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I 


THE  GENERAL 


BIOGRAPHICAL   DICTIONARY 


A   NEW  EDITION. 


VOL.  XXXII 


*  :- 


Printed  by  Nichols,  Son,  and  West  ley, 
Red  Lion  Passage,  Fleet  Street,  London. 


THE   GENERAL 

/ 

BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY: 

CONTAINING 
AN  HISTORICAL  AND  CRITICAL  ACCOUNT 

OF   THE 

LIVES    AND   WRITINGS 

OF   THE 

%MOST   EMINENT    PERSONS 

IN   EVERY   NATION; 

PARTICULARLY  THE  BRITISH  AND  IRISH. 
FROM  THE  EARLIEST  ACCOUNTS  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


A  NEW  EDITION, 

REVISED  AND   ENLARGED   BY 

ALEXANDER  CHALMERS,  F.  S.  A. 


VOL.  XXXII. 


LONDON: 

PlbfNTED  FOR  J.  NICHOLS  AJJD  SON ;  F.  C.  AND  J.  RIV1NOT0N  j  T.  PAYNE } 
OTRIDGB  AND  SON;  G.  AND  W.  NICOL ;  O.  WILKIE  ;  J.  WALKER;  W. 
LOWNDES;  T.  EGERTON;  LACKINGTON,  ALLEN,'  AND  CO.;  J.  CARPENTER;* 
LONGMAN,  HURST,  REES,  ORME,  AND  BROWN ;  CADELL  AND  DA  VIES;  LAW 
AND  WH1TTAKER;  J.  BOOKER  |  J.  CUTHELL  ;  CLARKE  AND  SONS;  J.  AND 
A.  ARCH;  J.  HARRIS;  BLACK,  PARBURY,  AND  ALLEN  ;  J.  BLACK;  J.  BOOTH; 
J.  MAWMAN;  GALE  AND  FENNBR ;  R.  H.  EYANS  j  J.  HATCHARD;  J.  MURRAY; 
BALDWIN,  CRADOCK,  AND  JOY  ;  E.  BENTLEY  ;  OGLE  AND  CO. ;  W.  GINGER ; 
ROBWELL  AND  MARTIN;  P.  WRIGHT;  J.  DEIGHTON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE; 
CONSTABLE  AND  CO.  EDINBURGH;   AND  WILSON  AND  SON,   YORKv 

1817. 


A  NfiW  AtfD    GEttfi 


BIOQRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY. 


W  HITGIFT  (John),  archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  the 
reigns  of  queen  Elizabeth  and  king  James,  and  one  of  the 
most  intrepid  supporters  of  the  constitution  of  the  church 
of  England,  was  descended  of  the  ancient  family  of  Whit- 
gift  in  Yorkshire.  His  grandfather  was  John  Whitgift, 
gent,  whose  son  was  Henry,  a  merchant  of  Great  Grimsby 
in  Lincolnshire-  Another  of  his.  sofl&lqtfjiprRobert  Whitgift, 
who  was  abbot  de  JVellaw  or  WdhiwejyJctaiGrimsby  in  the 
said  county,  a  monastery  of  Bjgjpk  Canons  dedicated  to  the 
honour  of  St.  Augustin.  He  was  a  man  memorable,  not 
only  for  the  education  of  our  John  Whitgift,  but  also  far 
his  saying  concerning  the  Romisb  j-eJjgion.  He  declared 
in  the  hearing  of  his  nephew,  that  "  they  and  their  reli- 
gion could  not  long  continue,  because,"  said  he,  "  I  have 
read  the  whole  Scripture  over  and  over,  and  could  never 
find  therein  that  our  religion  was  founded  by  God."  And 
as  a  proof  of  this  opinion,  the  abbot  alleged  that  saying 
of  our  Saviour,  "  Every  plant  that  my  heavenly  Father 
hath  not  planted,  shall  be  rooted  up."  Henry,  the  father 
of  our  archbishop,  had  six  sotrs,  of  whom  he  was  the  eldest, 
and  one  daughter,  by  Anne  Dy newel,  a  young  gentlewo- 
man of  a  good  family  at  Great  Grimsby.  The  names  of 
the  other  five  sons  were  William,  George,  Philip,  Richard, 
and  Jeffrey ;  and  that  of  the  daughter  Anne. 

John  was  born  at  Great  Grimsby  in  1530,  according  to 
hi*  biographers.  Strype  and  Paule,  but  according  to  Mr. 
Francis  Thynne,  quoted  by  Strype,  in  1533 :  the  former, 
however,  is  most  probably  the  right  date.  He  was  sent 
early  for  education  to  St.  Antony's  school,,  London,  then  # 
very  eminent  one,  and  was  lodged  in  St.  Paul's  ohurch- 

Vol.  XXXH.  B 


a  WHITGIFt 

yard,  *t  bis  aunt's,  the  daughter  of  Michael  Shatter,  a  ver- 
ger of  that  church.  Imbibing  very  young  a  relish  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  reformation,  he  had  of  course  no  liking  to 
the  mass;  so  that  though  his  aunt  had  often  urged  him  to 
go  with  her  to  mass,  and  procured  also  some  of  the  canons 
of  St.  Paul's  to  persuade  him  to  it,  he  still  refused.  By 
this  she  was  so  much  exasperated,  that  she  resolved  to  en- 
tertain bim  no  longer  under  her  roof,  imputing  all  her 
losses  and  domestic  misfortunes  to  her  harbouring  of  such 
an  heretic  within  her  doors ;  and  at  parting  told  him, 
"  that  she  thought  at  first  she  had  received  a  saint  into  her 
house,  but  now  she  perceived  he  was  a  Devil.9' 

He  now  returned  home  to  bis  father  in  Lincolnshire; 
and  his  uncle,  the  abbot,  finding  that  he  had  made  some 
progress  iti  grammatical  learning,  advised  that  he.  should 
be  sent  to  the  university.  Accordingly  he  entered  of 
Queen's  college,  Cambridge,  about  1548^  but  soon  after 
removed  to  Pembroke-hall,  where  the  celebrated  John 
Bradford,  the  martyr,  was  his  tutor.  He  had  not  been 
here  long  before  he  was  recommended  by  his  tutor  and 
Mr.  Grindal  (then  fellow,  and  afterwards  archbishop  of 
Canterbury)  to  the  master,  Nicholas  Ridley,  by  which 
means  he  was  made  scholar  of  that  house,  and  chosen  bible- 
clerk.  These  advantages  were  the  more  acceptable  to 
bim,  as  his  father  had  suffered  some  great  losses  at  sea,, 
and  was  less  able  to  provide  for  him.  When  Bradford  left 
Cambridge  in  1550,  Whitgift  was  placed  under  the  .care 
4>f  Mr.  Gregory  Garth,  who  continued  his  tutor  while  he 
remained  at  Pembroke-hall,  which  was  until  he  took  his 
degree  of  bachelor  of  arts  in  1553-4.  The  following  year, 
be  was' unanimously  elected  fellow  of  Peter-house,  and 
commenced  master  of  arts  in  1557. 

Soon  after  this,  as  he  was  recovering  from  a  severe  fit  of 
sickness,  happened  the  remarkable  visitation  of  his  univer- 
sity by  cardinal  Pole,  in  order  to  discover  and  expel  the 
•heretics,  or  those  inclined  to  the  doctrines  of  the  reforma- 
tion. To  avoid  the  storm,  Whitgift  thought  of  going 
abroad,  and  joining  tbe  other  English  exiles;  but  Dr. 
Perne,  master  of  his  college,  although  at  that  time  a  pro- 
fessed papist,  had  such  an  esteem  for  him,  that  he  under- 
took to  screen  bim  from  the  commissioners,  and  thus  he 
was  induced  to  remain ;  nor  was  he  deceived  in  his  con~ 
fidence  in  Dr.  Perne's  friendship,  who  being  then  vice- 
chancellor,  effectually  protected  him  from  all  inquiry,  not- 
withstanding the  very  strict  severity  of  the  visitation. 


W  H  1  T  G  I  F  T.  3 

■ 

In  1560  Mr.  Whitgift  entered  into  holy  orders,  and 
preached  his  first  sermon  at  St.  Mary's  with  great  and  ge- 
neral approbation.  The  same  year  he  was  appointed  chap- 
lain to  Cox,  bishop  of  Ely,  who  gave  him  the  rectory  of 
Teversham  in  Cambridgeshire.  In  1563  he  proceeded 
bachelor  qf  divinity,  and  Matthew  Hutton,  then  fellow  of 
Trinity-college,  being  appointed  regius  professor  of  divi- 
nity, the  same  year  Whitgift  succeeded  him  as  lady  Mar- 
garet's professor  of  divinity.  The  subject  of  his  lec- 
tures was  the  book  of  Revelations  and  the  whole  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  which  he  expounded  throughout^  These 
lectures  were  prepared  by  him  for  the  press;  and  sir 
George  Paule  intimates,  that  they  were  likely  in  his  time 
to  be  published ;  but  whatever  was  the  reason,  they  have 
never  appeared.  Strype  tells  us,  that  he  saw  this  ma- 
nuscript of  Dr.  Whitgift's  own  hand -writing,  in  the  pos- 
session of  Dr.  William  Payne,  minister  of  Whitechapel 
London;  and  that  after  his  death  it  was  intended  to  be 
purchased  by  Dr.  John  More,  lord  bishop  of  Ely.  This 
manuscript  contained  likewise  his  thesis,  when  he  after- 
wards kept  his  act  for  doctor  of  divinity,  on  this  subject, 
that  "  the  Pope  is  Antichrist." 

Soon  after  this  he  joinecl  bis  brother  professor*  Hutton, 
and  several  heads  of  colleges,  in  a  petition  to  sir  William 
Cecil,  their  chancellor,  for  an  order  to  regulate  the  elec- 
tion of  public  officers,  the  want  of  which  created  great  dis- 
turbance in  the  uuiversity  at  that  time.  Two  years  after 
this  be  distinguished  himself  so  eminently  in  the  pulpit, 
that  sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  then  lord- keeper,  sent  for  him  to 
court  to  preach  before  the  queen,  who  heard  him  with 
great  satisfaction,  and  made  him  ber  chaplain.  The  same 
year  (1565)  being  informed  that  some  statutes  were  pre- 
paring to~ enjoin  an  uniformity  of  habits,  particularly  to 
order  the  wearing  of  surplices  in  the  university,  he  pro-.  , 
moted  the  writing  of  a  joint  letter  privately  to  Cecil,  ear- 
nestly desiring  him  to  stop  (if  possible)  the  sending  down 
any  such  orders,  which  be  perceived  would  be  very  unac- 
ceptable to  the  university.  But  this  letter  gave  so  much 
offence  at  court,  that  he  found  it  necessary  to  male  an 
apology  for  the  share  he  had  in  it.  In  the  mean  time  he 
was  so  highly  esteemed  at  Cambridge,  both  as  a  preacher 
and  a  restorer  of  order  and  discipline  there,  that  in  June 
of  the  following  year,  the  university  granted  him  a  licence 
Under  their  common  seal,  to  preach  throughout  the  realm, 

»2 


4  WHIT6IFT. 

and  in  July  following  the  salary  of  his  professorship  wa* 
raised,  out  of  respect  to  him,  from  twenty  marks  to  twenty 
pounds. 

He  had  the  year  before  been  a  considerable  benefactor 
to  Peter-house,  where,  in  1567,  be  held  the  place  of  pre- 
sident, but  was  called  thence  in  April  to  Pembroke-hall, 
being  chosen  master  of  that  house,  and  not  long  after  was 
appointed  regius  professor  of  divinity.  In  both  these  pre* 
ferments  he  succeeded  his  old  friend  Dr.  Hutton,  now 
made  dean  of  York,  and  to  the  first  was  recommended,  as 
t)r.  Hutton  had  been,  by  Grindal,  then  bishop  of  London. 
But  he  remained  at  Pembroke-hall  only  about  three  mouths, 
for  upon  the  death  of  Dr.  Beauchamp,  the  queen  promoted 
him  to  the  mastership  of  Trinity-college.  This  place  was 
procured  for  him,  chiefly  by  the  interest  of  sir  William 
Cecil,  who,  notwithstanding  some  objections  bad  been  made 
to  his  age,  secured  the  appointment.  The  same  year  he 
took  his  degree  of  doctor  in  divinity ;  and  in  J  570,  having 
first  applied  to  Cecil  for  the  purpose,  he  compiled  a  new 
body  of  statutes  for  the  university,  which  were  of  great 
service  to  that  learned  community. 

'  This  work  he  finished  in  August,  and  the  same  month 
was  the  principal  agent  in  procuring  an  order  from  the 
vice-chancellor  and  heads  of  houses,  to  prohibit  the  cele- 
brated Cartwright  (See  Cartwright),  who  was  now  Mar* 
garet  professor,  from  reading  any  ipore  lectures  without 
-some  satisfaction  given  to  them  of  his  principles  and  opi- 
nions. Dr.  Whitgift  informed  the  chancellor  of  this  step, 
and  at  the  same'  time  acquainted  him  with  Cartwright's 
principles,  and  the  probable  consequences  of  them,  on 
which  he  received  the  chancellor's  approbation  of  what 
had  been  done.  Cartwright,  having  refused  to  renounce 
his  opinions,  was  deprived  of  his  professorship ;  but  as  he 
gave  out  that  those  opinions  were  rather  suppressed  by  au- 
thority, than  refuted  by  reason,  Dr.  Whitgift  took  an  ef- 
fectual method  to  remove  that  objection.  At  the  chancel- 
lor's request,  be  wrote  a  confutation  of  some  of  the  chief 
of  Cartwright's  sentiments,  and  sent  them  to  archbishop 
Parkqf,  in  a  letter  dated  Dec.  29,  with  au  intention  to 
publish  them,  which,  however,  was  not  done  until  after- 
wards when  they  were  combined  in  his  "  Answer  to  the 
Admonition,  &c."  hereafter  noticed. 

In  1671  Dr.  Whitgift  served  the  office  of  vice-chancel- 
lor.   The  same  year  an  order  was  made  by  the  archbishop 


W  H  I  T  G  I  F  T.  i 

imd  bishops,  that  all  those  who  had  obtained  faculties  to 
preach,  should  surrender  them  before  the  third  of  August; 
and  that  upon  their  subscription  to  the  thirty-nine  articles, 
and  other  constitutions  and  ordinances  agreed  upon,  new 
licences  should  be  granted.  This  being  signified '  to  the 
university,  and  an  order  sent,  requiring  them  to  call  in  all 
the  faculties  granted  before,  Whitgift  surrendered  his  for- 
mer licence,  obtained  in  J  566,  and  had  another  granted 
him  in  September  1571,  in  which  he  was  likewise  consti- 
tuted ope  of  the  university  preachers.  In  June,  in  conse* 
quence  of  the  queen's  nomination,  be  had  been  appointed 
dean  of  Lincoln,  and  in  October  the  archbishop  granted 
him  a  dispensation  to  hold  with  it  his  prebend  of  Ely  and 
rectory  of  Teversbam,  and  any  other  benefice  whatsoever; 
but  in  the  following  year  he  resigned  the  rectory  of 
Teversbam. 

He  was  now,  by  particular  appointment  from  the  arch* 
bishop  of  Canterbury,  writing  his  "  Answer  to  the  Admo- 
nition," which  requiring  more  leisure  than  his  office  as 
master  of  Trinity  college  could  admit,  he  desired  to  leave 
the  university,  but  this  the  other  heads  of  houses  succeeded 
in  preventing.  He  had  a  little  before  expelled  Cartwright 
from  his  fellowship  for  not  taking  orders  in  due  time,  ac- 
cording to  the  statute ;  and  before  the  expiration  of  the 
year  1 572  published  his  "  Answer  to  the  Admonition  to  the 
Parliament,"  4to.  The  "Admonition"  was  drawn  up  by 
Field,  minister  of  Aldermary,  London,  and  Mr.  Wilcox. 
As  archbishop  Parker  was  the  chief  person  who  encouraged 
Whitgift  to  undertake  the  "  Answer,"  he  likewise  gave 
him  considerable  assistance,  and  other  prelates  and  learned 
men  were  also  consulted,  and  every  pains  taken  to  make 
it,  what  it  has  been  generally  esteemed,  as  able  a  defence, 
of  the  Church  of  England  against  the  innovations  of  the 
puritans,  as  bishop  Jewel's  was  against  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  A  second  edition  appeared  in  1573, 
with  the  title  '<  An  answer  to  a  certain  libel,  entitled  An 
Admonition  to  the  Parliament,  newly  augmented  by  the 
author,  as  by  conference'  shall  appear."  To  this  a  reply 
being  published  by  Cartwright,  Dr.  Whitgift  published  his 
defence,  fol.  1574.  Cartwright  published  in  1574,  4to, 
«  The  second  Reply  of  T.  C.  against  Dr.  Whitgift's  second 
Answer  touching  Church-Discipline."  What  the  opinion 
of  Dr.  Whitaker,  who  was  thought  to  be  a  favourer  of  pu- 
ritanism,  was  concerning  this  book  of  Mr,  Cartwright,  will 


•  WHIT6IFT. 

appear  from  the  following  passage  in  a  Latin  letter  of  bis. 
preserved  by  Dr.  Richard  Bancroft  and  sir  George  Paule  in 
his  "  Life  of  archbishop  Whitgift."  "  I  have  read  a  great 
part  pf  that  book,  which  Mr.  Cartwright  hath  lately  pub- 
lished. •  I  pray  God  I  live  not,  if  I  ever  saw  any  thing 
more  loosely  written,  and  almost  more  childishly.  It  is 
true,  that  for  words  he  hath  great  store,  and  those  both 
fine  and  new;  but  for  matter,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  he  is 
altogether  barren.  Moreover,  he  doth  not  only  think  per- 
versely of  the  authority  of  princes  in  causes  ecclesiastical, 
but  also  flyeth  into  the  papists  holds,  from  whom  he  would 
be  thought  to  dissent  with  a  mortal  hatred.  But  in  this 
point  be  is  not  to  be  endured,  and  in  other  points  also  be 
borroweth  his  arguments  from  the  papists.  To  conclude, 
as  Jerom  said  of  Ambrose,  he  playeth  with  words,  and  is 
lame  in  his  sentiments,  and  is  altogether  unworthy  to  be  * 
confuted  by  any  man  of  learning."  And  Whitgift,  being 
advised  by  bis  friends  to  let  Cartwright' s  "  Second  Reply"- 
passes  unworthy  of  his  notice,  remained  silent. 

About  the  same  time,  Dr.  Whitgift  appeared  in  oppo- 
sition to  a  design  then  meditated,  for  abolishing  pluralities, 
and  taking  away  the  impropriations  and  tithes  from  bishops 
and  spiritual  (not  including  temporal)  persons,  for  the 
better  provision  of  the  poorer  clergy.  He  did  not,  how- 
ever, proceed  farther  in  this  than  to  express  his  sentiments, 
in  private  to  the  bishop  of  Ely*  who  had  proposed  the 
scheme,  which  does  not  appear  to  have  been  brought  for- 
ward in  any  other  shape,  probably  in  consequence  of  the 
arguments  he  advanced  against  it.  In  March  1577  he  was 
made  bishop  of  Worcester ;  and  as  this  diocese  brought 
him  into  the  council  of  the  marches  of  Wales,  he  was  pre- 
sently after  appointed  vice-president  of  those  marches  in 
the  absence  of  sir  Henry  Sidney,  lord  president,  and  now, 
lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland.  In  June  following  he  resigned 
the  mastership  of  Trinity  college ;  and  just  before  pro- 
cured a  letter  from  the  chancellor,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
practice  then  in  use,  of  taking  money  for  the  resignation  of 
fellowships. 

The  queen,  as  we  noticed  in  our  account  of  archbishop 
Grindal,  had  some  thoughts  of  placing  Whitgift  in  that 
worthy  prelate's  room,  even  in  his  life-time,  and  Grindal 
certainly  would  have  been  glad  to  resign  a  situation  in 
which  his  conduct  had  not  been  acceptable  to  the  court, 
aud  he  had  at  the  same  time  such  an  opinion  of  Whitgift . 


W  H  I  T  G  I  F  T.  f 

as  to  be  very  desirous  of  hicn  for  a  successor.     But  Wbk- 
.  gift  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  consent  to  an  arrange- 
ment of  this  kind,  and  requested  the  queen  would  excuse 
his  acceptance  of  the  office  on  any  terms  during  thre  life  of1 
Grind al.     Grindal,  however,  died  in  July  1583,  and  the: 
queen  immediately  nominated  Wbitgift  to  succeed  him  as 
archbishop  of  Canterbury.     On  entering  on  this  high  office  » 
be  found  it  greatly  over-rated  as  to  revenues,  and  was 
obliged  to  procure  an  order  for  the  abatement  of  100/.  to 
him  and  his  successors,  on  the  payment  of  first  fruits,  and  * 
he  shortly  after  recovered  from  the  queen,  as  part  of  the 
possessions  of  the  archbishopric,  Long- Beach   Wood,  in* 
Kent,  which  bad  been  many  years  detained  frorti  his  pre- 
decessor by  sir  James  Croft,  comptroller  to  her  majesty's 
household.     But  that  in  which  he  was  most  concerned  was  ' 
to  see  the  established  uniformity  of  the  church  in  so  great 
disorder  as  if  was  from  the  non-compliaoce  of  the  puritans,- 
who,  taking  advantage  of  his  predecessor's  easiness  in  that 
respect,  were  possessed  of  a  great  many  ecclesiastical  be- 
nefices and  preferments,  io  which  they  were  supported  by 
some  of  the  principal  men  at  court.     He  set  himself,  there- 
fore, with  extraordinary  zeal  and  vigour,  to  reform  these 
infringements  of  the  constitution*  for  which  he  bad  th* 
qneen'-s  express  orders.     With  this  view,    in  December 
1583,  he  moved  for  an  ecclesiastical  commission,  Which  • 
was  soon  after  issued  to  him,  with  the  bishop  of  London, 
and  several  others.     For  the  same  purpose,  in  1534,  bd 
drew  up  a  form  of  examination,  containing  twenty-four 
articles,  which  he  sent  to  the  bishops  of  his  province,  en- 
joining them  to  summon  all  such  clergy  as  were  suspected 
of  nonconformity,  and  to  require  them  to  answer  those  ar- 
ticles severally  upon  oath,  ex  officio  mero,  likewise  to  sub- 
scribe to  the  queen's  supremacy,  the  book  of  Gornmo* 

Prayer,  and  the  thirty-nine  articles.  •  

At  the  same  time  he  held  conferences  with  several  Of  thfc* 
puritans,  and  by  that  means  blroughtspme  to  a  compliance;* 
but  when  others  appealed  from  the  ecclesiastical  commis- 
sion to  the  council,  he  resolutely  asserted  his  jurisdiction', 
arid  vindicated  bis  proceedings,  even  in  some' cases* against 
the  opinion  of  lord  Burleigh,  who  was  his  chief  friend  there. 
But  as  archbishop  WhitgiFt's  conduct  has  been  grossly  mis- 
represented by  the  puritan  historians  and  by  their  sue-  • 
cessors,  who  are  still  greater  enemies  to  the  church,  it  nrvay 
be  necessary  to  enter  more  in  detail  on  bis,cocrespondeac*  - 


ft 


W  H  I  T  G  I  F  T. 


with  Burleigh,  &c.  at  this  time.  Some  ministers  of  Ely 
being  suspended  for  refusing  to  answer  the  examination 
above  mentioned,  applied  to  the  council,  who  wrote  a  let- 
ter to  the  archbishop  in  their  favour,  May  26,  1583.  To 
this  he  sent  an  answer,  in  the  conclusion  of  which,  so  well 
was  be  .persuaded  in  his  own  mind  of  the  propriety  of  his 
conduct,  he  told  the  council,  "  that  rather  than  grant  them 
liberty  to  preach,  be  would  chuse  to  die,  or  live  in  prison 
all  the  days  of  his  life,  rather  than  be  an  occasion  thereof, 
or  ever  consent  unto  it.91  Lord  Burleigh,  thinking  these 
ministers,  hardly  used  in  the  ecclesiastical  commission,  ad* 
vised  them  not  to  answer  to  the  articles,  except  their  con* 
sciences  might  suffer  them  ;  he  at  the  same  time  informed 
tbe  archbishop  that  he  had  given  such  advice,  and  intt-* 
mated  his  dislike  of  the  twenty-four  articles,  and  their 
proceedings  in  consequence  of  them,  in  several  letters. 
To  these  the  archbishop  answered  separately,  in  substance 
as  follows:  In  a  letter  dated  June  14,  from  Croydon,  .he 
declares  himself  content  to  be  sacrificed  in  so  good  a  cause;- 
and  that  the  laws,  were  with  him,  whatever  sir  Francis 
JCnollys  (who,  be  said,  had  little  skill)  said  to  the  contrary. 
This  alludes  to  a  paper  written  by  sir  Francis,  treasurer,  to 
the  queen's  household,  in  defence  of  the  recusants,  and 
sent  to  the  archbishop. .  Burleigh,  in.  a  second  letter,  dated 
Jtily  1,  expressing  himself  in. stronger  terms  against  these 
proceedings,  concludes  with  saying  that  the  articles  were 
branched  pat  into  so  many  circumstances,  that  be  thought 
the  inquisitors  of  Spain  used  not  so  many  questions  to  trap 
others;  and  that  this  critical  sifting  of  ministers  was  not 
to  reform,  but  to  insnare  :  but,  however,  upon  his  request, 
he  would  leave  them  to  his  authority,  nor  "  thrust  bis  sickle 
into  another  man's. harvest." 

>To  this  the  archbishop  sent  an  answer,  dated  July  3,  to 
tbe  following  purport :  That,  as  touching  the  tweoty-fottr 
articles,  which  his  lordship  seemed  so  much  to  dislike,  as 
written  in  a  Romish  style,  and  smelling  of  the  Romish  in-? 
quisition,  be  marvelled  at  his  lordship's  speeches,  seeing 
it  was  the  ordinary  course  in  other  courts,  as  in  the  star- 
chamber,  tbe  courts  of  the  marches,  and  other  places ;  and 
that  the  objection  of  encouraging  the  papists  by  these 
courses,  bad  neither  probability  nor  likelihood.  That  as 
to  his  lordship's  speech  for  the  two  ministers,  viz.  that  they 
were  peaceable,  observed  the  book,  denied  the  things 
Wherewith  they  were  charged,  *nd  desired  to  be  tried,  th$ 


W  H  I  T  O  I  F  T.  ..#. 

■ 

archbishop  demanded,  now  they  were  to  be  tried,  why 
they  did  refuse  ft  qui  male  egit  odit  luctm  f  That  the  ar- 
ticles be  administered  unto  them  were  framed  by  the  most 
learned  in  the  laws,  and  who,  be  dared  to  say,  hated  both 
the  Romish  doctrine  and  Romish  inquisition  ;  and  that  he 
ministered  them  to,  the  intent  only  that  he  might  truly  un- 
derstand whether  they  were  such  manner  of  men,  or  no,  as 
they  pretended  to  be,  especially,  seeing  by  public  fame 
tbey  were  noted  of  the  contrary,  and  one  of  them  pre- 
sented by  the  sworn  men  of  his  parish  for  his  disorders,  as 
he  was  informed  by  bis  official  there.  That  time  would  not 
serve  him  to  write  much  ;  that  he  referred  the  rest  to  the 
report  of  the  bearer,  trusting  bis  lordship  would  consider 
of  things  as  they  were,  and  not  as  they  seemed  to  be,  or 
as  some  would  hare  them  ;  that  he  thought  it  high  time  to 
put  those  to  silence  who  were  and  had  been  the  instru- 
ments of  such  great  discontentment  as  was  pretended; 
that  conscience  was  no  more  excuse  for  them  than  it  was 
for  the  papists  or  anabaptists,  in  whose  steps  they  walked. 
He  knew,  he  said,  that  he  was  especially  sought,  and 
many  threatening  words  came  to  his  ears  to  terrify  him  from 
proceeding;  that  the  bishop  of  Chester  (Chaderton)  had 
Wrote  to  him  of  late,  and  that  in  his  letter  a  little  paper 
was  inclosed,  the^.copy  whereof  be  sent  to  his  lordship* 
"You  know  (said  the  archbishop)  whom  he  knoweth ;  but 
it  moves  me  not ;  be  can  do  no  more  than  God  will  permit 
him.  It  is  strange  to  understand  what  devices  have  been 
used  to  move  me  to  be  at  some  men's  becks ;"  the  parti- 
cularities of  all  which  he  would  one  day  declare  to  his  lord- 
ship, and  added,  that  be  was  content  to  be  sacrificed  in  so 
good  a  cause,  "  which  1  will  never  betray  nor  give  over, 
God,  her. majesty,  all  the  laws,  my  own  conscience  and 
duty,  being  with  me.9'  He  concludes  with  beseeching 
Burleigh  not  to  be  discomfited,  but  continue;  the  cause 
was  good,  and  the  complaints  being  general,  were  vain, 
and  without  cause,  as  would  appear  when  they  descended 
to  particularities. 

T;o  encourage  bis  lordship  farther,  the  archbishop,  on 
JuneJ24,  sent  him  a  schedule  of  the  number  of  puritan 
preachers  in  his  province,  with  their  degrees,  confronting 
them  with  the  nonconformists,  by  which  it  appeared  thgtt 
there  were  seven  hundred  and  eighty-six  conformists,  and 
Mly  forty-pine  recusants. 

.Cpr^.Itorte.igh,  in  pother  letter,  still  insisting  that  he 


l«  W  H  I  T  G  I  F  f . 

would  hot  call  his  proceedings  rigorous  and  captious,  But: 
that  they  were  scarcely  charitable,   the  archbishop  sent 
btm,  July  15,  a  defence  of  his  conduct  in  a  paper  entitled 
"  Reasons  why  it  is  convenient  that  those  which  are  cul- 
pable in  the  articles  ministered  judicially  by  the  archbishop 
of  Canterbury  and  others,  her  majesty's  commissioners  for 
causes  ecclesiastical,  shall  be  examined  of  the  same  ar- 
ticles upon  their  oathsf,"     In  this  paper  be  maintained,  1. 
That  by  the  ecclesiastical  laws  remaining  in  force,  such 
articles  may  be  ministered :  this  is  so  clear  by  all,  that  it* 
was  never  hitherto  called  into  doubt.     2.  That  this  manner 
of  proceeding  has  been  tried  against  such  as  were  vehe- 
mently suspected,  presented,  and  detected  by  their  neigh* 
bours,  or  whose  faults  were  notorious,  as  by  open  preach- 
ing, since  there  hath  been  any  law  ecclesiastical  in  this 
realm.    3.  For  the  discovery  of  any  popery  it  hath  been 
used  in  king  Edward's  time,  in  the  deprivation  of  sundry 
bishops  at  that  time,  as  it  may  appear  by  the  processes, 
although  withal  for  the  proof  of.  those  things  that  they  de- 
nied, witnesses  were  also  used.     4.  In  her  majesty's  most 
bappy  reign,  even  from  the  beginning,  this  manner  of  pro- 
ceeding has  been  used  against  the  one  extreme  and  the 
other  as  general,  against  all  the  papists,  and  against  all 
those  who  would  not  follow  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
established  by  authority  ;  namely,  against  Mr.  Sampson  and 
others ;  and  the  lords  of  the  privy  council  committed  cer- 
tain to  the  Fleet,  for  counselling  sir  John  Southvvood  and  < 
other  papists  not  to  answer  upon  articles  concerning  their 
own  facts  and  opinions,  ministered  unto  them  by  her  high- 
ness's  commissioners  for  causes  ecclesiastical,    except  a 
fame  thereof  were  first  proved.     5,  It  is  meet  also  to  be 
<lone  ex  officio  meroy  because  upon  the  confession  of  such 
offences  no  pecuniary  penalty  is  set  down  whereby  the  in- 
former (as  in  other  temporal  courts)  may  be  considered  for 
bis  charge  and  pains,  so  that  such  faults  would  else  be 
wholly  unreformed.     6.  This  course  is  not  against  charity, 
for  it  is  warranted  by  law  as  necessary  for, reforming  of  of- 
fenders and  disturbers  of  the  unity  of  the  church,  and  for 
avoiding  delays  and  frivolous  exceptions  against  such  as 
otherwise  should  inform,  denounce,  accuse,  or  detect  them ; 
and  because  none  are  in  this  manner  to  be  proceeded 
against,  but  whom  their  own  speeches  or  acts,  the  public 
fame,  and  some  of  credit,  as  their  ordinary  or  such  like,  > 
shall  denounce,  and  signify  to  be  such  as  are  tobe  rd- 


WHITGIFT;  U 

formed  in  this  behalf.  7.  That  the  form  of  such  proceed- 
ings by  articles  ex  officio  mero  is  usual ;  it  may  appear  by 
all  records  in  ecclesiastical  courts,  from  the  beginning ;  in 
all  ecclesiastical  commissions,  namely,  by  the  particular 
commission  and  proceedings  against  the  bishops  of  London 
and  Winton,  in  king  Edward's  time,  and  from  the  begin- 
ning of  her  majesty's  reign,  in  the  ecclesiastical  commis- 
sion, till  tbis  hour;  and  therefore  warranted  by  statute. 
8.  If  it  be  said  that  it  be  against  law,  reason,  and  charity, 
for  a  man  to  accuse  himself,  quia  nemo  tenetur  seipsum  pro* 
dere  aut  propriam  turpitudinem  revcUire,  I  answer,  that  by 
all  charity  and  reason,  Proditus  per  denunciationem  alterius 
sive  per  Jamam,  tenetur  seipsum  ostendere,  ad  evitandum 
scandalum,  et  seipsum  purgandum.  Pralatus  potest  inquirere 
sine  proDia/ama^  ergo  a  fortiori  delegati  per  principem  pas- 
sunt :  ad  h<ec  in  istis  articulis  turpitudo  non  inquiritur  aut 
jlagitium,  sed  excessus  et  errata  clericorum  circa  publicam 
functionem  ministerii,  dt  quibus  ordinario  raiionem  reddere 
coguntvr.  (The  purport  of  our  prelate's  meaning  seems  to 
be,  that  although  no  man  is  obliged  to  inform  against  him- 
self, yet,  if  informed  against  by  others,  be  is  bound  to  come 
forwards,  in  order  to  avoid  scandal,  and  justify  himself ; 
that  a  bishop  may  institute  an  inquiry  upon  a  previous/ami,' 
much  more  delegates  appointed  by  the  sovereign;  and 
besides,  that  in  these  articles  no  inquiry  is  made  as  to  tur- 
pitude or  criminality,  but  as  to  the  irregularities  and  errors 
of  the  clergy,  in  matters  relating  to  their  ministerial  func- 
tions, an  account  of  which  they  are  bound  to  render  to 
their  ordinary.)  9.  Touching  the  substance  of  the  articles, 
first,  is  deduced  there  being  deacons  and  ministers  in  the 
church,  with  the  lawfulness  of  that  manner  of  ordering ; 
secondly,  the  establishing  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  by 
statute,  and  the  charge  given  to  bishops  and  ordinaries  for 
seeing  the  execution  of  the  said  statute ;  thirdly,  the  good- 
ness of  the  book,  by  the  same  words  by  which  the  statute 
of  Elizabeth  calls  and  terms  it.  Fourthly,  several  branches 
of  breaches  of  the  book  being  de  propriis/actis.  Fifthly, 
is  deduced  detections  against  them,  and  such  monitions  as 
have  been  given  them  to  testify  their  conformity  hereafter, 
and  whether  they  wilfully  still  continue  such  breaches  of 
law  in  their  ministration*  Sixthly,  Their  assembling  of 
conventicles  for  the  maintenance  of  their  factious  dealings. 
10.  For  the  second,  fourth,  and  sixth  points,  no  man  will 
think  it  unmeet  they  should  be  examined,  if  they  would 


»  WH1TGIFT. 

tbave  them  touched  for  any  breach  of  the  book.  ]  1 .  The  - 
article  for  examination,  whether  they  be  deacon  or  minis- 
ter, ordered  according  to  the  law  of  the  land,  is  most 
necessary ;  first,  for  the  grounds  of  the  proceeding,  lest 
the  breach  of  the  book  be  objected  to  them  who  are  not 
bound  to  observe  it ;  secondly,  to  meet  with  such  schis- 
matics, whereof  there  is  sufficient  experience,  which  either 
thrust  themselves  into  the  ministry  without  any  lawful  call- 
ing at  all,  or  else  to  take  orders  at  Antwerp,  or  elsewhere 
beyond  the  seas.  12.  The  article  for  their  opinion  of  the 
lawfulness  of  their  admission  into  the  ministry  is  )to  meet 
with  such  hypocrites  as,  to  be  enabled  for  a  living,  will  be 
content  to  be  ordained  at  a  bishop's  hands,  and  yet,  for 
the  satisfaction  of  their  factious  humour,  will  afterwards 
have  a  calling  of  certain  brethren  ministers,  with  laying  on 
of  hands,  in  a  private  house,  or -in  a  conventicle,  to  the 
manifest  slander  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  nou- 
rishing of  a  flat  schism ;  secondly,  for  the  detection  of 
such  as  not  by  private,  but  by  public  speeches,  and  written 
pamphlets  spread  abroad,  do  deprave  the  whole  order 
ecclesiastical  of  this  church,  and  the  lawfulness  of  calling 
therein  ;  advouching  no  calling  lawful  but  where  their 
fancied  monstrous  signorie,  or  the  assent  of  the  people,  do 
admit  into  the  ministry.  13.  The  sequel  that  would  follow 
of  these  articles  being  convinced  or  proved,  is  not  so  much 
as  deprivation  from  ecclesiastical  livings,  if  there  be  no 
obstinate  persisting,  or  iterating  the  same  offence ;  a  mat- 
ter far  different  from  the  bloody  inquisition  in  time  of 
popery,  or  of  the  six  articles,  where  death  wad  the  sequel 
against  the  criminal.  14.  It  is  to  be  considered,  what  en- 
couragement and  probable  appearance  it  would  breed  to 
the  dangerous  papistical  sacraments,  if  place  be  given  by 
the  chief  magistrates  ecclesiastical  to  persons  that  tend  of 
singularity,  to  the  disturbance  of  the  good  peace  of  the 
church,  and  to  the  discredit  of  that,  for  disallowing  whereof 
the  obstinate  papist  is  worthily  punished.  IS.  The  num- 
ber of  these  singular  persons,  in  comparison  of  the  quiet 
and  conformable,  are  few,  and  their  qualities  are  also,  for 
excellence  of  gifts  in  learning,  discretion,  and  considerate 
zeal,  far  inferior  to  those  other  that  yield  their  conformity ; 
and  for  demonstration  and  proof,  both  of  the  numbers,  and 
also  of  the  difference  of  good  parts  and  learniug  in  the 
province  of  Canterbury,  there  are  but  —  hundred  that  re- 
fuse, and  — -  thousands  that  had  yielded  their  conformities. 


W  H  I  TO  I  F  T.  !3 

These  sentiments  of  the  archbishop,  although  the  detail 
of  them  may  seem  prolix,  will  serve  to  shew  the  nature  of 
that  unhappy  dispute  between  the  church  and  the  puritans 
which,  by  the  perseverance  of  the  latter,  ended  in  the  fatal 
overthrow  both  of  church  and  state  in  the  reign  of  Charles  Is 
Tbey  also  place  the  character  of  Whitgift  in  its  true  lifbt, 
and  demonstrate,  that  he  was  at  least  conscientious  in  hi* 
endeavours  to  preserve  the  unity  of  tbe  church,  and  was 
always  prepared  with  arguments  to  defend  bis  conduct* 
which  could  not  appear  insufficient  in  the  then  state  of  the 
public  mind,  when  toleration  was  not  known  to  either 
party.  That  his  rigorous  protection  of  the  church  from 
the  endeavours  of  the  puritans  to  new  mould  it,  should  be 
censured  by  them  and  their  descendants,  their  historian* 
and  biographers,  may  appear  natural,  but  it  can  hardly  be 
called  consistent,  when  we  consider  that  the  immediate 
successors  of  Whitgift,  who  censured  him  as  a  persecutor, 
adopted  every  thing  that  was  contrary  to  freedom  and  tole- 
ration in  his  system,  established  a  high  commission-court 
by  a  new  name,  and  ejected  from  their  livings  the  whole 
body  of  the  English  clergy  who  would  not  conform  to  their 
ideas  of  church-government:  and  even  tyrannized  over  sueb^ 
men  as  bishop  Hall  and  others  who  were  doctrinal  puritansr 
and  obnoxious  only  as  loving  the  church  that  has  arisen  out 
of  the  ashes  of  the  martyrs. 

Jn  1585,  we  find  Whitgift,  by  a  special  order  from  the 
queen,  employed  in  drawing  up  rules  for  regulating  tbe 
press,  which  were  confirmed  and  published  by  authority  of 
the  Star-chamber  in  June.  As  be  had  been  much  im- 
peded in  his  measures  for  uniformity  by  some  of  the  privy- 
council,  he  attached  himself  in  a  close  friendship  with  sir 
Christopher  Hatton,  then  vice-chamberlain  to  the  queen, 
to  whom  he  complained  of  the  treatment  he  bad  met  with 
from  some  of  the  court.  The  earl  of  Leicester,  in  parti- 
cular, not  content  with  having  made  Cartwright  master  of 
his  hospital,  newly  built  at  Warwick,  attempted,  by  a  most 
artful  address,  to  procure  a  license  for  him  to  preach 
without  the  subscription  ;  but  the  archbishop  peremptorily 
refused  to  comply.  About  the  beginning  of  next  year, 
the  archbishop  was  sworn  into  the  privy -council,  and  the 
next  month  framed  the  statutes  of  cathedral-churches,  so 
as  to  make  them  comport  with  the  reformation.  In  1587, 
when  the  place  of  lord-chaqcellor  became  vacant  by  the 
death  of  sir  Thomas  Bromley,  the  queen  made  the  arch- 


14  WH1T61FT. 

bishop  an  offer  of  it,  which  he  declined,  but  recom- 
mended sir  Christopher  Hatton,  who  was  accordingly  ap- 
pointed. 

On  the  alarm  of  the  Spanish  invasion  in  1588,  he  pro- 
cured an  order  of  the  council  to  prevent  the  clergy  front 
being  cessed  by  the  lord-lieutenants  for  furnishing  arms, 
.  and  wrote  circular  letters  to  the  bishops,  to  take  care  that 
their  clergy  should  be  ready,  with  a  voluntary  appointment 
of  arms,  &c.  This  year  the  celebrated  virulent  pamphlet, 
entitled  '<  Martin  Mar-prelate"  was  published,  in  which 
the  archbishop  was  severely  bandied  in  very  coarse  lan- 
guage, but  without  doing  him  any  injury  in  the  eyes  of 
those  whom  he  wished  to  please.  The  same  year,  the 
university  of  Oxford  losing  their  chancellor,  the  earl  of 
Leicester  proposed  to  elect  Whitgift  in  his  stead  ;  but  this, 
being  a  Cambridge-man,  he  declined,  and  recommended 
his  friend  sir  Christopher  Hatton,  who  was  elected,  and 
thus  the  archbishop  still  had  a  voice  in  the  affairs  of  that 
university.  In  1590,  Cartwright  being  cited  before  the 
ecclesiastical  commission,  for  several  misdemeanours,  and 
refusing  to  take  the  oath  ex  officio9  was  sent  to  the  Fleet- 
prison,  and  the  archbishop  drew  up  a  paper  containing  se- 
veral articles,  more  explicitly  against  the  disciplinarians 
than  the  former,  to  be  subscribed  by  all  licensed  preachers. 
The  next  year,  1591,  Cartwright  was  brought  before  the 
Star-chamber;  and,  upon  giving  bail  for  his  quiet  beha- 
viour, was  discharged,  at  the  motion  of  the  archbishop, 
who  soon  after  was  appointed,  by  common  consent,  to  be 
arbitrator  between  two  men  of  eminent  learning  in  a  re* 
markable  point  of  scripture-chronology.  These  were  Hugh* 
Broughton  the  celebrated  Hebraist,  and  Dr.  Reynolds, 
professor  of  divinity  at  Oxford.  The  point  in  dispute  was, 
"  Whether  the  chronology  of  the  times  from  Adam  to  Christ 
could  be  ascertained  by  the  holy  Scriptures  ?"  The  first 
held  the  affirmative,  which  was  denied  by  the  latter.  (See 
Broughton,  p.  82.) 

In  1593,  Dr.  Bancroft  published  his  u  Survey  of  Dis- 
cipline,'* in  which  he  censured  Beza's  conduct  in  inter- 
meddling with  the  English  affairs  in  respect  of  church-go- 
vernment ;  upon  which  the  latter  complained  of  this  usage 
in  a  letter  to  archbishop  Whitgift,  who  returned  a  long 
answer ;  in  which,  he  not  only  shewed  the  justice  of  Dr. 
Bancroft's  complaint,- but  further  also  vindicated  Saravia 
and  Sutcliffe,  two  learned  men  of  the  English  church,  who 


WHTTGIFT.  IS 

had  written  in  behalf  of  the  order  of  episcopacy,  against 
Beaa's  doctrine  of  the  equality  of  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
and  a  ruling  presbytery.  In  1534,  fresh  complaints  being  , 
made  in  parliament  of  the  corruption  of  the  ecclesiastical 
courts,  the  archbishop  made  a  general  survey  of  those 
courts,  and  their  officers;  and  the  same  year  he  put  a  slop 
to  the  passing  of  some  new  grants  x>f  concealed  lands  b6- 
Ipnging  to  the  cathedrals. 

.-  In  1595,  when  the  disputes  respecting  church  •discipline 
appeared  to  be  in  a  good  measure  appeased,  the  predes* 
tinsrian-controversy  took  place ;  and  on  this  occasion,  the 
archbishop  bad  the  chief  direction  in  drawing  up  the  fa- 
mous "  Lambeth  articles/9  in  concert  with  Bancroft,  tbep 
bishop  of  London,  Vaughan  bishop  of  Bangor,  Tindaldeaa 
of  Ely,  Whitaker,  and  others.  Our  readers  are  apprized 
that  these  articles  are  favourable  to  the  doctrines  of  Cal- 
?in.  The  archbishop's  declaration  was,  "  I  know  them  to 
be  sound  doctrines,  and  uniformly  professed  in  this  church 
of  England,  and  agreeable  to  the  articles  of  religion  estab- 
Jtshed  by  authority."  The  archbishop  of  York  made  a 
similar  declaration,  .and  the  articles  were  forwarded  to 
Cambridge,  accompanied  by  a  letter  from  Whitgift,  re- 
commending that  "  nothing  be  publicly  taught  to  the 
contrary." 

.  This  year  (1595)  be  obtained  letters  patent  from  her 
majesty,  and  began  the  foundation  of  his  hospital  at  Croy- 
don* The  same  year  he  protected  the  hospital  of  Har- 
bjedown,  in  Kent,  against  an  invasion  of  their  rights  and 
property :  and  the  queen  having  made  him  a  grant  of  ali 
jthe  revenues  belonging  to  the  hospital  of  Eastbridge,  m 
Canterbury,  he  found  out,  and  recovered  next  year,  some 
lands  fraudulently  withheld  from  it.  In  1599,  his  hospital 
at  Croydon  being  finished,  was  consecrated  by  bishop 
Bancroft.  The  founding  of  this  hospital  (then  the  largest 
in  the  kingdom)  having  given  rise  to  an  invidious  report 
of  the  archbishop's  immense  wealth  and  Jarge  revenues,  hfe 
dffev'upa  particular  and  satisfactory  account  of  all  his  pur- 
chases sinJcehe  had  been  bishop,  with  the  sums  given  for 
the  same,  and  the  yearly  value  of  the  lands,  and  to  what 
and  whose  uses,  together  with  the  yearly  value  of  the  arch- 
bishoj}ru:k. 

On  the  death  of  queen  Elizabeth,  in  1602,  the  arch- 
bishop sent  Dr.  Neysle,  dean  of  Canterbury,  into  Scotland 
to  king  James,  in.  the  name  of  the'  bishops  and  clergy  of 


id  Wflif  di'Ft. 

England,  to  tender  their  allegiance,  and  to  understand  hirf 
majesty's  pleasure  in  regard  to  the  government  of  the 
church  ;  and  though  the  deau  brought  a  gracious  message 
to  him  from  the  king,  assuring  his  grace  that  be  would 
maintain  the  settlement  of  the  church  as  his  predecessor 
left  it,  yet  the  archbishop  was  for  some  time  not  without 
bis  fears.  The  puritans,  on  the  death  of  the  queen,  con- 
ceived fresh  hopes  of  some  countenance,  and  began  to 
speak  with  more  boldness  of  their  approaching  emanci- 
pation from  ecclesiastical  authority.  A  book  had  beeh 
printed  the  year  before,  by  some  of  their  party,  entitled 
"  The  Plea  of  the  Innocents/'  and  in  this  year,  1603,  ap- 
peared "The  humble  Plea  of  the  thousand  Ministers  for 
redressing  offences  in  the  Church,"  at  the  end  of  which 
they  required  a  conference.  In  October  a  proclamation 
wad  issued  concerning  a  meeting  for  the  hearing  and  de- 
termining things  said  to  be  amiss  in  the  church.  Thi? 
issued  in  the  famous  conference  held  at  Hampton-court, 
Jan.  14,  16,  and  18,  an  account  of  which  was  drawn  up  by 
bishop  Barlow.  It  only  served  to  shew  the  puritans  thai 
the  king  was  decidedly  against  them. 

Archbishop  Whitgift  did  not  survive  this  conference 
long.  He  was  not  well  in  December  before,  but  troubled 
with  jaundice,  which,  together  with  his  age,  made  him  unfit 
to  wait  upon  the  king  and  court  abroad  the  last  summer. 
But  soon  after  the  conference  at  Hampton-court,  going- iti 
his  barge  to  Fulbam  in  tempestuous  weather,  he  caught 
cold ;  yet  the  next  Sunday,  being  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent, 
be  went  to  Whitehall,  where  the  king  held  a  long  discourse 
with  him  and  the  bishop  of  London,  about  the  affairs  of 
the  church.  His  grace  going  thence  to  the  council-cham*- 
ber  to  dinner,  after  long  fasting,  he  was  seized  with  a  pa* 
ralytic  stroke,  and  his  speech  was  taken  away.  He  -  wttt 
then  carried  to  the  lord  treasurer's  chamber,  and  thence, 
after  a  while,  conveyed  to  Lambeth.  On  Tuesday  he  wa* 
visited  by  the  king,  who,  out  of  a  sense  of  the  importance 
of  his  services  at  this  particular  juncture,  told  him,  "that 
he  would  pray  to  God  for  bis  life ;  and  that  if  he  could 
obtain  it,  be  should  think  it  one  of  the  greatest  temporal 
blessings  that  could  be  given  him  in  this  kingdom.9*  The 
archbishop  would  have  said  something  to  the  king,  but  h» 
speech  failed  him,  so  that  he  uttered  only  imperfect  wordsv 
But  so  much  of  his  speech  was  heard,  repeating  earnestly 
with  his  eyes  and  bands  lifted  up,  "  Pro  $colesi&  Dei  t" 


r 


W  H  I  T  G  I  F  T.  n 

fiemg  stall  desirous  to  have  spoken  his  mind  to  the  king,  be 
made  two  or  three  attempts  to  write  to  him ;  but  was  too 
far  go»e,  and  the  next  day,  being  February  the  29th,  he 
died.     "Whether  grief,,,  says  Strype,  "  was  the  cause  of 
his  death,   or  grief  and  fear  for  the  good  estate  of  the 
church  under  a  new  king  and  parliament  approaching, 
ninglmg  itself  with  his  present  disease,  might  hasten  his 
death,  I  know  not,"      But  Camden  says,    "  Whilst  the 
king  began  to  contend  about  the  liturgy  received,  and 
judged  some  things  fit  to  be  altered,  archbishop  Whitgift 
tiied  wkh  grief."     "Yet  surely,"  says  Strype,  "by  what 
.we  have  heard  before  related  iu  the  king's  management  of 
the  conference,  and  the  letter  he  wrote  himself  to  the 
archbishop,  he  had  a  better  satisfaction  of  the  king's  mind. 
To  which  I  may  add,  that  there  was  a  *  Directory,'  drawn 
i|p  by  the  Puritans,  prepared  to  be  offered  to  the  next  par- 
liament,   which,   in  all  probability,    would   have  created 
a  great  deal  of  disturbance  in  the  house,  having  many  fa- 
vourers there ;  which  paper  the  aged  archbishop  was  privy 
to,  and  apprehensive  of.    .  And  therefore,    according  to 
another  of  our  historians,  upon  his  death-bed,  he  should 
use  these  words,  'Et  nunc,  Domine,  exaltata  est  Anima 
mep,  quod  in  eo  tempore  succubui,  quando  mallem  epis- 
jcqpatfts  mei  Deo  reddere  rationem,  quam  inter  homines 
exercere:  i.  e.  And  now,  O  Lord,  my  soul  is  lifted  up, 
that  I  die  in  a  time,  wherein  I  had  rather  give  up  to  God 
an  .account  of  my  bisboprkk,  than  any  longer  to  exercise  it 
among  men.'  " 

He  was  interred  in  the  parish  church  of  Croydon,  where 
a  monument  was  erected,  with  an  inscription  to  his  me- 
mory. He  is  described  as  being  in  person  of  a  middle 
stature,  a  grave  countenance,  and  brown  complexion,  black 
hair  and  ^yes.  He  wore  his  beard  neither  long  nor  thick. 
He  was  small-boned,  and  of  good  agility,  being  straight 
and  well  shaped  in  all  his  limbs,  to  the  light  habit  of  his 
body,  which  began  somewhat  to  spread  and  fill  out  towards 
•his  latter  years.  His  learning  seems  to  have  been  confined 
•to  the  Latin  language,  vas  Hugh  Broughton  often  objected 
•to  him,  nor  dees  he  appear  to  have  been  much  skilled  in 
the  deeper  points  of  theology ;  but  he  was  an  admired  and 
'diligent  preacher,  and  took  delight  in  exercising  his  talent 
that  way  ;  it  wag,  however,  in  ecclesiastical  government  that 
'bjb  forte  lay,  in  the  administration  of  which  he  was  both  in- 
defatigable and  intrepid.     It  is  by  his  conduct  in  this  that 

Voj~  XXXII.  C 


18  m  WHITG,IFT>     . 

his  character  has  beeu  estimated  by  posterity,  and  has  been 
Tariously  estimated  according  to  the  writer's  regard  for,  or 
aversion  to,  the  constitution  of  the  church  of  England. 

In  his  expences  it  appears  that  he  was  liberal  and  even 
iftunificent.  Both  when  bishop  of  Worcester  and  arch-» 
bishop  of  Canterbury,  be  took  for  many  years  into  his 
house  a  number  of  young  gentlemen,  several  of  quality,  to 
instruct  them,  as  their  tutor,  reading  to  them  twice  a  day 
in  mathematics  and  other  arts,  as  well  as  in  the  languages, 
giving  them  good  allowance  and  preferments  as  occasion 
offered.  Besides  these,  he  kept  several  poor  scholars  in 
his  house  till  he  could -provide  for  them,  and  prefer  them, 
arid  maintained  others  at  the  university.  His  charitable 
hospitality  extended  likewise  to  foreigners.  He  relieved 
atid  entertained  at'his  house  for  many  years  together  several 
,  distressed  ministers  (recommended  by  Beza  and  others)  out 
of  Germany  and  France,  who  were  driven  from  their  own 
-homes,  some  by  banishment,  others  by  reason  of  war,  shewv 
ing  no  less  bounty  to  them  at  their  departure.  Sir  George 
Paule  assures  us,  that  he  remitted  large  sums  of  his  own 
parse  to  Beza. 

He  was  naturally  of  a  warm  temper,  which  however  he 
-learned  to  correct  as  he  advanced  in  years.  Cecil  earl  of 
Salisbury  said  of  him,  after  his  death,  that  "there  was  no- 
thing more  to  be  feared  in  his  government,  e$|>ecially  to- 
wards his  latter  time,  than  his  mildness  and  clemency." 
The  judicious  Hooker  confirms  this  opinion,  by  averring 
that  "  He  always  governed  with  that  moderation,,  which 
useth  by  patience  to  suppress  boldness."  It  does  not  ap- 
pear that  lie  printed  any  thing  except  what  we  have  men- 
tioned in  the  controversy  with  Cartwright,  but  in  StrypeV 
Life  of  him,  are  many  of  his  letters,  papers,  declaration*, 
&c.  the  whole,  like  all  Strype's  lives,  forming  an  excellent 
history  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  l  •  »  - 

WH1TT1NGHAM  (William),  the  puritan  dean  of  Dur- 
ham, the  son  of  William  Whittingham,  esq.  by  a  daughter 

of- Haughton,  of  Haughton  Tower,  was  born  in  the 

city  of  Chester,  in  J  524.  In  his  sixteenth  year  he  became 
a  commoner  of  Brasenose  college,  Oxford,  where  he  maths 
great  proficiency  in  literature.  After  taking  his  degree  of 
.bachelor  of  arts,  he  was  elected  fellow  of  Ail    Souls   in 

*  Strype's  Life,  M. — Life  by  »ir  George  Paule,  1699,  8vo. — The  same*ritfc 
notes  id  Woidsworth'g  Uiograpby. — Bkg.Brit. — Fuller**  Worthies,- Church  Hi*. 
lory,  and  Abel  Redivivu*. 


! 


WHITTINGHAM,  19     » 

1545,  and  two  years  afterwards  was  taade  one  of  the  seniors; 
of  Christ-church,  on  the  foundation  of  Henry  VIII.     In 
May  1 5 50,  having  obtained  leave  to  travel  for  three  years, 
he  passed  his  time  principally  at  Orleans,  where  he  married 
the  sister  of  Calvin.     He  returned  to  England  in  the  latter 
end  of  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  but,  as  he  was  a  staunch 
adherent  to  the  doctrines  of  the  reformation,  he  found  it 
necessary  to  leave  home,  when  queen  Mary  came  to  the 
throne,  and  joined  the  exiles  at  Francfort.     Here  he  be- 
came one  of  those  who  took  part  against  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Church  of  England  being  observed  among  the  exiles, 
and  afterwards  became  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Geneva. 
On  the  Scotch  reformer,  Knox,  leaving  that  society  to  re- 
turn to  his  own  country,  Whittingham  was  prevailed  upon 
by  Calvin  to  take  orders  in  the  Geneva  form,   and  was 
Knox's  successor.     While  here,  he  undertook,  along  with 
other  learned  men  of  the  same  society,  an  English  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible,  which  was  not  completed  when  those  em- 
ployed upon  it  bad  an  opportunity  to  return  to  England, 
on  the  accession  of  queen  Elizabeth.     Whittingham,  how- 
ever, remained  at  Geneva  to  finish  the  work,  during  which 
time  be  translated  into  metre  five  of  the  Psalms,  inscribed 
W.  W.  of  which  the  1 19th  was  one,  together  with  the  ten 
commandments,  and  a  prayer,  all  which  make  part  of  the 
collection!  known  by  the  names  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins. 
-    Soon  after  bis  return  to  England,  he  was  employed  to 
accompany  Francis,  earl  of  Bedford,  On   his  embassy  of 
condolence  for  the  death  of  the  French  king,  in  1560.    * 
And  he  attended  Ambrose,  earl  of  Warwick,  to  Havre  de 
Grace,  to  be  preacher  there,  while  the  earl  defended  it 
against  the  French  ;  and  Wood  says,  he  preached  noncon- 
formity in  this  place.     Warwick  appears  to  have  had  a 
very  high  opinion  of  him,  and  it  was  by  his  interest  that 
Whittingham  was  promoted  to  the  deanery  of  Durham  in 
1563,  which  he  enjoyed  for  sixteen  years.     During  this 
time  he  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  opponents  of  the  ha- 
bits and  ceremonies,  and  so  outrageous  in  his  zeal  against 
popery,  as  to  destroy  sohie  of  the  antiquities  and  monu- 
ments in  Durham  cathedral,  and  even  took  up  the  stone 
coffins  of  the  priors  of  Durham,  and  ordered  them  to  be 
used  as  troughs  for  horses  to  drink  in. 

Notwithstanding  his  opposition  to  the  habits,  when  in 
1564  the  order  issued  for  wearing  them,  he  thought  proper  to 
comply,  and  being  afterwards  reproached  for  this  by  one 

C  2 


20  WB.ITTINGHAM. 

•who  was  With  hitn  at  Geneva,  be  quoted  a  saying-  of  Cfel- 
•v5n*s,  "that  for  "external  rrratters  of  order,  they  might  riot 
■fiegtect  their  ministry,  for  so  should  they,  for  tithing  of 
toning  neglect  the  greater  things  of  the  law."  It  bad  been 
WfcJ'l  far  the  church  bad  this  maxim  more  generally  pce- 
"tariled.  Whittingham  did  essential  service  to  government 
in  the  rebellion  of  1569,  but  rendered  himself  very  ob- 
-nbxitfus  at  court,  hy  a  zealous  preface,  written  by  him,  to 
Christopher  Goodman's  book,  which  denied  women  the 
bright  of  government.  He  was  probably  in  other  respects 
obnoxious,  generally  as  a  nonconformist,  which  at  last 
excited  a  (dispute  between  him  and  Dr.  Sandys,  archbishop 
of  Ybrfc.  In  1577  the  archbishop  made  his  primary  visi- 
tation throughout  the  whole  of  his  province,  and  began 
^vtth  Durham,  where  a  chaTge,  consisting  of  thirty^fivfe 
•articles,  was  brought  against  Wbittingbam,  the  principal 
t*f  Which  was  his  being  ordained  only  at  Geneva.  Whit- 
tingham refused  to  answer  the  charge,  but  denied  in  the 
first  place  the  archbishop's  'power  to  visit  the  church  of 
Durham.  On  this  Sandys 'proceeded  to  excorrrmunicaekwi. 
Whittingham  then  appealed  to  the  queen,  who  directed  a 
commission  to  the  archbishop,  Henry  earl  <rf  Huntington, 
♦ofd  president  of  the  north,  and  Dr.  Hutton,  dean  x>f  York, 
to 'hear  and  determine  the  validity  of  his  ordination,  and 
to  inquire  into  the  other  misdemeanours  contained  in  the 
articles  ;  but  this  commission  ended  only  in  some  counte- 
nance being  given  to  Whttaker  by  the  earl  and  by  Dr. 
Hutton,  the  latter  of  whom  went  so  far  as  to  say,  that  "Mr* 
Whittingham  was  ordained  in  a  better  sort  than  even  the 
Irfrchbishop  himself."  Sandys  then  obtained  another  com- 
mission directed  to  himself,  thfe  bishop  of  Durham,  and 
lord  president,  the  chancellor  of  the  dioeese,  rod  some 
Others.  This  was  Elated  May  14,  1578,  and  may  be  seen 
in  Ryrtier's  Fcedera,  vol.  XV.  Here,  as  Whittingham  had 
nothing  to  produce  but  a  certificate  or  call  from  the 
church  of  Geneva,  it  was  objected  to,  but  the  lord  pre-. 
sident  said  that  "it  would  be  ill  taken  by  all  the  godly  and 
learned,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  that  we  allow  of  popish 
massing  priests  in  our  ministry,  and  disallow  of  ministers 
made  in  the  reformed  church."  It  does  not  appear  that 
any  thing  was  determined,  and  Whittingham's  death  put 
an  end  to  the  question.  He  died  June  10,  1579,  in  the 
sfcty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  and  his  remains  were  interred  iri 
the  cathedral  of  Durham,  with  a  monumental  inscription, 


WWITTINGH^W,  21 

which  was  a|t&f  ward*  desjUfoyed  by  another  set  of  in^oy a* 
tors>  tie  appears  tp  baye  been  a  oum  of  talents  for  bmU 
ness*  s*s<  well  as  leading,  and  t,b$re  was  a  design  at  one  time, 
ef  advancing  bin*  a£  cpupt.  He  published  little  except 
some  few  translations  from,  foreign  authors  to  promote  the 
ca^se  of  the  reformation  aad  he  wrote  some  preface^. l 

WHITT1NGTON  (Robeet>,  one  of  our  early  gnmm* 
fi?t>s,  was  born  in  (Jchfreld  about  1 4 SO,  and  educated  und$c 
the  famous  grammarian,  John  Stan  bridge,  in  the  school  ad~ 
joiilapg  to  Magdalen  college,  Oxford.    He  afterwards  made 
a  cQWsi.derable  progress  in  philosophy,  but  topk  more  plea- 
sure in  classical  and  grammatical  studies,  in  which  be  fan- 
cied himself  designed  to  shine.     In  150  i  he  b#gan  to  te^cfe 
a  grammar-school,  probably  in  London,  as  a,\l  his  plica- 
tions were  dated  tbenc^.     Ip  the  beginning  of  1513X  he 
supplicated  the  congregation  of  regeats  of  the  university 
of  Oxford,,  by   the  rwme  of  Robert  Whittington,    ^  se- 
cular chaplain,  a&d  a  scholar  of  the  art  of  rhetoric,  that 
whereas   he   had   spent   fourteen   years   in   the   study   of 
the  said  ait,  and   twelve  years  ity  teaching,   "  it  might 
be  s«$c&iic  for  him.  that  he.  migl^t  be  laureated."     This 
heiag  granted,  he   composed   an   hundred   verses  which 
w^e  stuck  up  in  public  places,  especially  on  the  doors  of 
Sit.  Mary's  church,  ?nd  wap  solemnly  crowned  with  a  wreath 
of  laurel,  &c.  that  is,  he  was  made  doctor  of  grammar,,  an 
ungual  title  and  ceremony,  and  the  last  of  the  kind..    ThU 
appeals  to  have  conferred  no  academical  rank,  for  be  wa* 
afterwards  admitted  to  the  degree,  of  bachelor  of  arts.    Front 
this  time,  however,  he  called  himself  \t\  several  of  his  work? 
Protpv&tes  4ngli#>  .an  assumption  which  his  fellow-gr^m- 
mariap$,  Horipan  and  Wy,  did  not  much  relish.     He  ap- 
pears indeed  to  have  been  very  qonceited  of  his  abilities 
and  tahave  undervalued  those  who  were  at  least  his  equals, 
Yefe  historians,  allow  hjm  to  hare  been  4n  excellent  Greek 
a&d  Latin  scholar)  and  a  man  of  a  facetious  turq,  b|it  too 
much  given  to  personal  satire  both  in  conversation,  smd  in 
btt  tUerfery  dispute?  with  Uly,  Aldridge,  and  others.     He  , 
w^sali^e  in  1,530,  hut  hpw  long  afterwards  does  not  ap- 
p$ar.     He  wrote  agreaU  ma^y  grammatical  treatises,  some 
of  which  WrtW*  have  long  been  in  use  in  schools,  for  tbey 
went  through  many  edition^     Tbey  arq  enumerated  by 

.    l  4th.  Qx.  vol.  L—  Hutphinson's  Hist,  of  Durham. —Stripe's  Life  of  Parker, 
pp.  135, 156.^-Strype'sGrinda!,  p.  170. — Strype'i  Anuals.-— Brook's  Lire*  of  U>f 
Puritans, 


32  WHITTINGTON. 

Wood,  and,  more  correctly,  by  Mr.Dibdin  in  bis  Typogra- 
pbical  Antiquities.     Warton  also  mentions  a  few  of  them, 
and  says  that  some  of  his  Latin  poetry  is  in  a  very  classical 
dtyle,  and  much  in  the  manner  of  the  earlier  Italian  poets.1* 
WHITWORTH  (Charles,  Lord),  author  of  a  very  cu- 
rious account  of  the  Russian  empire,  was  son  of  Richard 
Whitworth,  esq.  of  Blowerpipe,  in  Staffordshire,  who,  about 
the  time  of  the  revolution,  had  settled  at  Adbaston.     He 
married  Anne  Moseley,  niece  of  sir  Oswald  Moseley,  of 
Cheshire,  by  whom  he  had  six  sons  and  a  daughter :  Charles ; 
Richard,  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  queen's  own  royal  regi- 
ment of  horse ;  Edward,  captain  of  a  man  of  war ;  Gerard, 
one  of  the  chaplains  to  king  George  the  First ;  John,  cap- 
tain of  dragoons ;  Francis,  surveyor- general  of  his  majesty's 
woods,  and  secretary  of  the  island  of  Barbadoes,  father  of 
Charles  Whitworth,  esq.  member  of  parliament  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  reign  for  Minehead  in  Somerset- 
shire ;  and  Anne,  married  to  Tracey  Pauncefort,  esq.  of 
Lincolnshire. 

Charles,  the  eldest  son,  was  bred  under  that  accQmplished 
minister  and  poet  Mr.  Stepney  ;  and,  having  attended  him 
through  several  courts  of  Germany,  was,  in  1702,  appointed 
resident  at  the  diet  of  Ratisbon.  In  1704  he  was  named 
envoy -extraordinary  to  the  court  of  Petersburgh,  as  he 
was  sent  ambassador-extraordinary  thither  on  a  more  so- 
lemn and  important  occasion,  in  1710.  M.  de  Matueof, 
the  Czar's  minister  at  London,  had  been  arrested  in  the 
public  street  by  two  bailiffs,  at  the  suit  of  some  tradesmen^ 
to  whom  he  was  in  debt.  This  affront  had  like  to  have  been 
attended  with  very  serious  consequences.  The  Czar  de- 
manded immediate  and  severe  punishment  of  the  offenders, 
with  threats  of  wreaking  his. vengeance  on  all  English  mer* 
chants  and  subjects  established  in  his  dominions.  In  this 
light  the  menace  was  formidable,  and  the  Czar's  memorials 
urged  the  queen  with  the  satisfaction  which  she  had  ex- 
torted herself,  when  only  the  boat  and  servants  of  the  earl 
of  Manchester  had  been  insulted  at  Venice.  Mr.  Whit- 
worth had  the  hohour  of  terminating  this  quarrel.  In  1714, 
he  was  appointed  plenipotentiary  to  the  diet  of  Augsbourg 
and  Ratisbon;  in  1716,  envoy  -extraordinary  and  plenipo- 
tentiary to  the  king  of  Prussia;  in  1717,  envoy-extraordi- 

1  Ath.  Ox.  rol.  I.  new  edit— WtrtoB's  Hist  of  Poetry.— -Dibdio's  Ames.— ■ 
Dodd's  Ch.  Hitt. 


W  H  I  T  W  Q  R  T  H.  23 

naryto  the  Hague.  In  1719,  he  returned  in. his  former 
character  to  Berlin;  and  in '1721  the  late  king  rewarded, 
his  long  services  by  creating  him  baron  Whit  worth  of.  Gal- 
Way,  in  the  kingdom  of  Ireland.  The  next  year  bis  lord- 
ship was  entrusted  with  the  affairs  of  Great  Britain  at  the 
congress  of  Cambray,  in  the  character  of  ambassador-ex- 
traordinary and  plenipotentiary.  He  returned  home  in 
1724,  and  died  the  next  year  at  his  hotose  in  Gerard-street, 
London.     His  body  was  interred  in  Westminster- abbey. 

His  "  Account  of  Russia,  as  it  was  in  the  year  17 10,"  was 
published  by  the  late  lord  Orford  at  Strawberry-hill,  who 
informs  us  that  besides  this  little  piece,  which  must  retrieve 
and  preserve  his  character  from  oblivion,  lord  Whitworth 
left  many  volumes  of  state  letters  and  papers  in  the  pos- 
session of  his  relations.  One  little  anecdote  of  him  lord 
Orford  was  told  by  tbe  late  sir  Luke  Schaub,  who  had  it 
from  himself.  Lord  Whitworth  had  bad  a  personal  inti- 
macy with  the  famous  Czarina  Catherine,  at  a  time  when 
her  favours  were  not  purchased,  nor  rewarded  at  so  extra- 
vagant a  rate  as  that  of  a  diadem.  When  he  had  compro- 
mised the  rupture  between  the  court  of  England  and  the 
Czar,  he  was  invited  to  a  ball  at  court,  and  taken  out  to 
dance  by  the  Czarina.  As  they  began  the  minuet,  she 
squeezed  him  by  tbe  hand,  and  said  iu  a  whisper,  "Have 
you  forgot  Utile  Kate  V ' 

Lord  Whitworth's  MS  Account  of  Russia  was  communi- 
cated to  lord  Orford,  by  Richard  Owen  Cambridge,  esq. 
having  been  purchased  by  him  in  a  very  curious  set  of 
books,  collected  by  Moos'.  Zolman,  secretary  to  the  Jate 
Stephen  Poyntz,  esq.  This  little  library  relates  solely  to 
Russian  history  and  affairs,  and  contains,  in  many  languages,  « 
every  thing  that  perhaps  has  been  written  on  that  country.1 

WH  YTT  (Robert),  an  eminent  physician,  born  at  Edin- 
burgh Sept  6,  1714,  was  the  son  of  Robert  Whytt,  esq.  of 
fieunochy,  advocate.  This  gentleman  died  six,  months  be- 
fore tbe  birth  of  our  author,  who  was  also  deprived  of  his 
mother  before  he  had  attained  the  seventh  year  of  his. age* 
After  receiving  the  first  rudiments  of  school- education,  be 
was  sent  to  tbe  university  of  St.  Andrew's;  and  after  the 
usual  course  of  instruction  there,  in  classical,  philosophical, 
and  mathematical  learning,  he  came  to  Edinburgh,  where 
he  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine,  under  those  emi- 

1  Lord  Orford'f  preface  to  tbe  "  Accdunt,"  Ice. 


M  WBYTT, 

neat  teachers,  Monro,  Rutherford,  Sinclair,  Plummet,  At* 
sion,  and  Innes.  After  learning  what  was  to  be  afequtned* 
in  this  university,  he  visited  other  countries  in  the  proseco* 
tion  of  his  studies,  and  after  attending  the  most  eminent 
teachers  at  London,  Paris,  and  Leyden,  he  had  the  degree* 
of  M.  D.  conferred  upon  him  by  the  university  of  Rbeiaw 
in  1736,  being  then  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  age.* 
Upon  his  return  to  his  own  country,  be  had  the  same  ho- 
nour conferred  upon  him  by  the  university  (if  St.  Andrews, 
where  he  had  before  obtained,  with  applause,  the  degree  of 
M.  A.  In  1737,  he  was  admitted  a  licentiate  of  medicine 
in  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  of  Edinburgh,  and  the 
year  following  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  fellow  of  the 
college.  From  the  time  of  his  admission  as  a  licentiate,  be 
practised  physic  at  Edinburgh  a,  and  the  reputation  which: 
lie  acquired  for  medical  learning,  pointed  him  out  as  a  filj 
successor  for  the  first  vacant  chair  in  the  university.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  Dr.  Sinclair,  whose  eminent  medical  abi~ 
lities,  and  persuasive  powers  of  oratory,  had  contributed  not 
a  little  to  the  rapid  advancement  of  the  medical  school  of 
Edinburgh,  found  that  the  talents  which  he  possessed,  could 
no  longer  be  exerted  consistently  with  his  advanced  age, 
he  resigned  his  academical  appointments  in  favour  of 
JXr.  Whytt. 

This  admission  into  the  college  took  place  June  20, 1746, 
and  Dr.  Wbytt  began  his  first  course  of  the  Institutions  of 
Medicine  at  the  commencement  of  the  next  winter  session, 
in  which  the  abilities  be  displayed  were  answerable  to  the 
expectationsbis  fame  had  excited.  The  Latin  tongue  was 
then  the  language  of  the  university  of  Edinburgh,  and  he 
both  spoke  and  wrote  in  Latin  with  singular  propriety,  ele« 
gance,  and  perspicuity.  At  that  time  the  system  and  sen-* 
timents  of  Boerhaave,  which,  notwithstanding  their  errors, 
must  challenge  the  admiration  of  the  latest  ages,  were  very 
generally  received  by  the  most  intelligent  physicians  in 
Britain.  Dr.  Whytt  had  no  such  idle  ardour  for  novelties 
as  to  throw  them  entirely  aside  because  he  could  not  follow 
them  in  every  particular.  Boerhaavie*s  "  Institutions," 
therefore,  furnished  him  with  a  text  for  his,  lectures;  and 
he  was  no  less  successful  in  explaining,  illustrating,  and 
establishing  the  sentiments  of  the  author,  when  he  could 
freely  adopt  them,  than  in  refuting  them  by  clear,  con- 
nected, and  decisive  arguments,  when  he  had  occasion  to 
differ  from  him.    The  opinions  which  he  himself  proposed, 


r 


WHYTT, 


wore  delivered  and  eo  forged  wifth  such  ae*te*e9S,*f  iitaet* 
ifoa,  such  display  of  {acts,  and  force  of  argmie&t,.  a*  ccjukt 
rarely  fail  to  gain  universal  assent  from  bis  niwwtou*  audi* 
tors,  and  be  delivered  them  with  becoming  modesty  and 
diffidence. 

From  the  time  that  be  first  entered  upon  an  academical 
appointment,  till  1756,  bis  prelections  were  confined  to  th* 
institutions  of  medicine  alone.     But  at  tbat  period  bis 
learned  colleague,  Dr.  Rutherford,  who  was  then  profess** 
of  the  practice  of  medicine,  found  it  necessary  to  retire; 
and  on  this  occasion,  Dr.  Wbytt,  Dr.  Monro  senior,  and 
Dr.  Cullen,  each  agreed  to  take  a  share  in  an  appointment 
in  which  their  united  exertions  promised  the  highest  ad* 
vantages  to  the  university.     By  this  arrangement,  students 
who  bad  an  opportunity  of  daily  witnessing  the  practice  of 
three  such  teachers,  and  of  hearing  the  grounds  of  that 
practice  explained,  could  not  fail  to  derive  the  most  solid 
advantages.     In  these  two  departments  the  institutions  of 
medicine  in  the  university,  and  the  clinical  lecture*  ia 
the  royal  infirmary  (which  were  first  begun  by  Dr.  Ru> 
tberford)  Dr.  Wbytt's  academical  labours  were  attended 
with  the  most  beneficial  consquences  both  to  the  students^ 
and  to  the  university.     But  not  long  after  the  period  we 
have  last  mentioned,  his  lectures  on  the  former  of  these 
subjects  underwent  a  very  considerable  change.     About 
this  time  the  illustrious  Gaubius,  who  had  succeeded  to  the 
chair  of  Boerhaave,  published  his  "  Institutiones  Patholo- 
gist."    This  branch  of  medicine  had  indeed  a  place  in  the 
text  which  Dr.  Why tt  formerly  followed,  but,  without  de- 
tracting from  the  character  of  Boerhaave,  it  may  justly  be 
said,  that  the  attention  be  had  bestowed  upon  it  was  not 
equal  to  its  importance.    Dr,  Whytt  was  sensible  of  the  im- 
proved state  in  which  pathology  now  appeared  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Boerhaave's  successor;  and  he  made  no  delay  ia 
availing  himself  of  the  advantages  which  were  then  afforded* 
Accordingly,  in  1762,  his  pathological  lectures  were  en- 
tirely new  modelled.     Following  the  publication  of  Gaur 
bius  as  a  text,  he  delivered  a  comment,  which  was  heard  by 
every  intelligent  student  with  the  most  unfeigned  satisfac- 
tion.  For  a  period  of  more  than  twenty  years,  during  which 
he  was  justly  held  in  the  highest  esteem  as  a  lecturer  at 
Edinburgh, .  it  may  readily  be  supposed  that  the  t-xten*  <d 
his  practice  corresponded  to  his  reputation,    in  fact  he  re- 
ceived both  the  first  emoluments,  and  the  highest  hoafaie. 


*6  WHHT, 

which  could  there  be  obtained.  With  extensive  practice 
in  Edinburgh,  he  had  numerous  consultations  from  other 
places.  His  opinions  on  medical  subjects  were  daily  re- 
quested by  his  most  eminent  contemporaries  in  every  part 
of  Britain.  •  Foreigners  of  the  first  distinction,  and  cele- 
brated physicians  in  the  most  remote  parts  of  the  British 
empire,  courted  an  intercourse  with  him  by  letter.  Be- 
sides private  testimonies  of  esteem,  many  public  marks  of 
honour  were  conferred  upon  him  both  at  home  and  abroad* 
In  1752,  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
London;  jn  1761,  he  was  appointed  first  physician  to  the 
king  in  Scotland ;  and  in  1764,  he  was  chosen  president  of 
the  royal  college  of  physicians  at  Edinburgh. 

At  an  early  period  of  life,  soon  after  he  had  settled  as  a 
medical  practitioner  in  Edinburgh,  he  married  Miss  Ro- 
bertson, sister  to  general  Robertson,  governor  of  New 
York  ;  by  her  he  had  two  children,  both  of  whom  died  in 
infancy,  and  their  mother  did  not  long  survive  them.  A 
few  years  after  he  again  entered  into  the  married  state  with 
Miss  Balfour,  sister  to  James  Balfour,  esq.  of  Pilrig.  By 
this  lady  he  had  fourteen  children,  six  of  whom  only 
survived  him.  His  wife  died  in  1764,  and  it  is  not  impro- 
bable that  the  many  deaths  in  his  family,  and  this  last  loss 
had  some  share  in  hastening  his  own  ;  for  in  the  beginning 
of  1765  his  health  was  so  far  impaired,  that  he  became  in- 
capable of  his  former  exertions.  A  tedious  complication  of 
chronical  ailments,  which  chiefly  appeared  under  the  form 
of  Diabetes,  was  not  to  be  resisted  by  all  the  medical  skill 
which  Edinburgh  could  afford ;  and  at  length  terminated 
in  death,  April  15,  1766,  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his 

age- 

~    Dr.  Whytt's  celebrity  as  an  author  was  very  great.     His 

first  publication  was,  "  An  Essay  on  the  Vital  and  other  In- 
voluntary motions  of  animals,"  which  was  written  fifteen 
years  before  publication  in  1751.  His  next  publication 
was  his  "  Essay  on  the  virtues  of  Lime-water  and  Soap  in 
the  cure  of  the  stone,"  1752,  part  of  which  had  appeared 
several  years  before  in  the  "  Edinburgh  Medical  Essays."  His 
"  Physiological  Essays,"  were  first  published  in  1755.  In 
1764  appeared  his  principal  work,  entitled  "Observations 
on.  the  nature,  causes,  and  cure  of  those  disorders  which 
«re  commonly  called  nervous,  hypochondriac,  and  hyste- 
ric." The  last  of  his  writings,  "  Observations  on  the  Dropsy 
of  the  Brain,"  did  not  appear  till  two  years  after  his  death, 


W  H  Y  T  T.  fl* 

when  all  his' works  were  collected  and  published  in  one  vo- 
lume quarto,  under  the  direction  of  his  son,  and  of  his  in- 
timate friend  the  late  sir  John  Pringle.     Besides  these  five 
works,  he  wrote  many  papers  which  appeared  in  different 
periodical  publications;  particularly  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions,  the  Medical  Essays,  the  Medical  Observa- 
tions, and  the  Physical  and  Literary  Essays. l 
WICKHAM.     SeeWYKEHAM. 
WICKLIFFE,  Wicliff,  de  Wyclif,  or  Wiclef  (John), 
a  very  learned  English  divine  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  the  first  champion  of  that  cause  which  was  afterwards 
called   Protestantism,    was  born  at  a  village  then  called 
Wickliffe,  from  which  he  took  his  surname,  near  Richmond 
in  Yorkshire,  in  1324.     Of  the  parents  of  one  who  lived  in 
so  remote  a  period,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  we  should 
be  able  to  procure  any  account.     He  was  sent  early  to  Ox- 
ford,- and  was  first  admitted  commoner  of  Queen's  college, 
and  afterwards  of  Merton,  where  he  became  probationer, 
but  not  fellow,  as  has  been  usually  reported.     While  he 
resided  here,  he  associated  with  some  of  the  most  learned 
men  of  the  age  who  were  members  of  that  college,  and  it 
is  said  that  Geoffry  Chaucer  was  at  one  time  his  pupil. 
Among  his  contemporaries,  he  was  soon  distinguished  both 
for  study  and  genius.     He  acquired  all  the  celebrity  which 
a  profound  knowledge  of  the  philosophy  and  divinity  then 
in  vogue  could  confer,  and  so  excelled  in  wit  and  argu- 
ment as  to  be  esteemed  more  than  human.     Besides  the 
learning  of  the  schools,  he  accumulated  a  profound  know- 
ledge of  the  civil  and  canon  law,  and  of  the  municipal  laws 
of  our  own  country,  which  have  been  rarely  an  object  of 
attention  until  the  establishment  of  the  Yinerian  professor* 
ship.     He  also  not  only  studied  and'commented  upon  the 
sacred  writings,    but  translated    them   into   English,   and 
wrote  homilies  on  several  parts  of  them  ;  and  to  all  this  he 
added  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  fathers  of  the 
Latin  church,  with  St.  Austin  and  St.  Jerome,  St.  Ambrose 
and  St.  Gregory. 

With  these  acquisitions,  he  did  not  hastily  obtrude  the 
novel  opinions  to  which  they  had  given  rise.  He  was 
thirty-six  years  of  age  before  his  talents  appeared  to  the 
world,  and  evten  then  they  were  called  forth  rathei  by  ne- 
cessity than  choice.     In  1360  he  became  the  advocate  for 

1  Encyelopsdia  Britannic*. 


jp.  W  I  G  ItIF  F  E. 

ther  university  against  the  incroachments  made  by  the  men- 
dicant friars,  wfeo  had  been  very  troublesome  from  their 
first  establishment  in  Oxford  in  1230,  aard  had  occasioned 
great  inquietude  lo  the  chancellor  and  scholars,  by  infringe 
ia*g.  their  statutes  and  privileges,  and  setting  up  an  exempt 
jurisdiction.  Their  misconduct  bad  decreased  the  number 
of  students  from  thirty  thousand  to  six  thousand,  parents 
being  afraid  to  send  their  children  to  toe  university,  where 
tjbey  w$re  in  danger  of  being  enticed  by  these  friars  from 
(be  colleges  into  convents;,  and  no  regard  was  paid  to  the 
determination  of  parliament  in  1366,  that  the  friars  should 
veceive  no  scholar  under  the  age  of  eighteen.  But  Wick- 
liffe now  distinguished  himself  against  these  usurpations, 
and,  with  Thoresby,  Bolton,  Hereford,  and  other  colleagues, 
openly  apposed  the  justification  which  the  friars  bad  ad* 
vaueed  in  favour  of  their  begging  trade  from  the  example 
pf  Christ  and  his.  apostles.  Wickliffe  also  wrote  seyeral 
tsaets  against  them,  particularly  "  Of  Clerks  Possessionem," 
*'  Of  the  Poverty  of  Christ,  against  able  Beggary ,"  and 
*'  Of  Idleness  in  Beggary."  These  were  written,  with  an 
elegance  uncommon  in  that  age,  in  the  English  language, 
of  which  he  may  be  considered  as  one  of  the  first  refiners, 
4vhiie  his  writings  afford  many  curious  specimens  of  old 
English  orthography.  His  controversies  gave  him  such  re- 
putation in  the  university,  that,  in  1361  he  was  advanced 
to  he  master  of  Baliol  college ;  and  four  years  after  he 
was  tnade  warden  of  Canterbury  -hall,  founded  by  Simon 
de  I  slip,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  in  1361,  and  now  in- 
cluded in  Christ-church.  The  letters  of  institution,  by 
which,  the  archbishop  appointed  him  to  this  wardeosbip, 
were  dated  14  Dec.  1365,  and  in  them  he  is  styled,  "  a 
.person  in  whose  fidelity,  circumspection,  and  industry,  bis 
grace;  very  much  confided ;  and  one  on  whom  be  had  fixed 
his  eyes  for  that  place,  on  account  of  the  honesty  of  his 
life,  his  laudable  conversation,  and  knowledge  of  letters." 
Wickliffe  amply  fulfilled  these  expectations,  till  the 
death  of  the  archbishop  in  1366,  who  was  succeeded  in 
the  archiepiscopal  dignity  by  Simon  Langbam.  This  pre- 
late had  been  a  monk,  and  being  inclined  to  favour  the  re- 
ligious against  the  seculars,  was  easily  persuaded  by  the 
monks  of  Canterbury  to  eject  Wickliffe  in  1367  from  his 
wardenship,  and  the  other  seculars  from  their  fellowships- 
He  also  issued  out  his  mandate,  requiring  Wickliffe  and 
all  the  scholars  to  yield  obedience  to  Wodehall  as  their 


.WJCKLIFFJB.  » 

warden.     This  WodehaU  had  actually  <be*n  appointed  wuav 
den  by  tlie  founder,  but  he  was  at  such  variance  with  the 
secular   scholars,    that  the  archbishop  was  compelled  to 
tarn  him  and  three  other  monks  out  of  his  new*  founded 
hall,  at  which  time  he  appointed  Wickliffe  to  be  warden, 
aud  three  other  seculars  to  be  scholars.     The  scholars  now, 
however,  refused  to  yield  obedience  to  Wodehall,  as  bemg 
contrary  to  the  oath  they  bad  taken  to  the  founder,  and 
Langham,  irritated  at  their  obstinacy,  sequestered  the  to* 
venue,  and  took  away  the  books,  &c.  belonging  tofche  haH. 
Wickliffe,  and  his  expelled  fellows,  appealed  to  the  pope, 
who  issued  a  bull,  dated  at  Viterbo  28  May,  137U,  restor- 
ing Wodehall  and  the  monks,  and  imposing  perpetual  si- 
lence on  Wickliffe  and  his  associates.     As  this  bull  was 
illegal,  and  interfered    with   the  form    of  the   licence   of 
mortmain,  the  monks  in  1372  screened  themselves  by  pro*, 
curing  the  royal  pardon,  and  a  confirmation  of  the  papal 
sentence,  for  which  they  paid  20Q  marks,  nearly  800/.  of 
our  money. 

About  this  time  the  pope  (Urban)  sent  notice  to  king 
Edward,  that  he  intended  to  cite  him  to  his  court  at  Avig- 
non, to  answer  for  his  default  in  not  performing  the  bo- 
mage  which  king  J<£n  acknowledged  to  the  see  of  Rome; 
and  for  refusing  to  pay  the  tribute  of  700  marks  a-year, 
which  that  prince  granted  to  the  pope.  The  king  laid  this 
before  the  parliament,  and  was  encouraged  to  resist  the 
claim.  One  of  the  monks  having  endeavoured  to  vindicate 
it,  Wickliffe  replied ;  and  proved  that  the  resignation  of 
the  crown,  and  promise  of  a  tribute  made  by  king  John, 
ought  not  to  prejudice  the  kingdom,  or  oblige  the  present 
king,  as  it  was  done  without  consent  of  parliament.  This 
introduced  him  to  the  court,  and. particularly  to  the  duke 
of  Lancaster,  who  took  him  under  his  patronage.  At  this 
time  he  styled  himself  peculiaris  regis  clericus,  or  the  king's 
own  clerk  or  chaplain,  but  continued  to  profess  himself  an 
obedient  son  of  the  Roman  church.  Shortly  alter  he  was 
presented,  by  the  favour  of  the  duke  of  Lancaster,  to  the 
living  of  Lutterworth  in  Leicestershire,  but  in  the  diocese 
of  Lincoln,  and  it  was  here  that  be  advanced  in  his  writ- 
ings and  sermons,  those  opinions  which  entitle  him  to  the 
rank  of  reformer.  But  as  he  did  not  in  the  most  open 
iQanner  avow  these  sentiments  until  he  lost  this  living;,  hit 
enemies  then  and  since  have  taken  occasion  to  impute 
them  to  a  motive  of  revenge  against  the  court  of  Rome 


30  WICKLIFFE. 

which  deprived  him.  This,  however,  is  not  strictly  the 
troth,  as  he  seems  to  have  uttered  and  maintained  some  of 
'bis  reforming  opinions  before  he  was  turned  out  of  the 
rectorship.  This  is  evident  from  a  tract  entitled  "  Of  the 
last  age  of*  the  Church,"  published  in  1356,  fourteen 
years  before,  in  which  he  censures  the  popish  exactions 
and  usurpations. 

It  must  be  allowed,  however,  that  his  boldness  increased 
with  his  sufferings.     In  1372  he  took  his  degree  as  doctor 
of  divinity,  and  read  lectures  with  great  applause,  in  which 
he  more  strongly  opposed  the  follies  and  superstitions  of 
the  friars,  exposed  their  corruptions,  and  detected  tbeit 
practices  without  fear  or  reserve.     The  "conduct  of  the 
court  of  Rome  in  disposing  of  ecclesiastical  benefices  and 
dignities  to  Italians,  Frenchmen,  and  other  aliens,  became 
so  notorious  and  oppressive,  that  in  1374,  the  king  issued 
out  a  commission  for  taking  an  exact  survey  of  all  the  dig- 
nities and  benefices  throughout  his  dominions,  which  were 
in  the  hands  of  aliens.     The  number  and  value  of  them 
appeared  enormous,  and  he  determined  to  send  seven  am- 
bassadors to  require  of  the  pope  that  he  would  not  interfere 
with  the  reservation  of  benefices.     He  -had  tried  a  similar 
embassy  the  year  before,  which  procured  only  an  evasive 
concession.     On  the  present  occasion  Wickliffe  was  the 
second  person  nominated,  and,  with  the  other  ambassadors, 
was  piet  at  Bruges  by  the  pope's  nuncio,  two  bishops  and 
a  provost.     This  treaty  continued  two  years,  when  it  was 
concluded  that  the  pope  should  desist  from  making  use  of 
reservations  of  benefices.     But  the  very  next  year,  the 
treaty  was  broken,  and  a  long  bill  was  brought  into  parlia- 
ment against  the  papal  usurpations,  as  the  cause  of  all  the 
plagues,  injuries,  famine,  and  poverty  of  the  realm.     They 
remonstrated  that  the  tax  paid  to  the  pope  amounted  to 
five  times  as  much  as  the  tax  paid  to  the  king ;  and  that 
God  bad  given  his  sheep  to  the  pope  to  be  pastured,  not 
fleeced.     Such  language  encouraged  Wickliffe,  who  boldly 
exposed  the  pride,  avarice,  ambition,  and  tyranny  of  the 
pope,  in  his  public  lectures  and  private  conversation ;  and 
the  monks  complained  to  the  pope  that  Wickliffe  opposed 
the  papal  powers,  and  defended  the  royal  supremacy  ;  on 
which  account,  in  1376  they  drew  up   nineteen  articles 
against  him,  extracted  from  his  public  lectures  and  ser- 
mons, of  which  some  notice  will  be  taken  hereafter.     It 
Boay  be  sufficient  to  add  in  this  place,  that  they  tended  to' 


WICKLIFFE.  SI 

oppose  the  rights  which  the  popes  had  assumed,  and  to 
justify  the  regal,  in  opposition  to  the  papal' pretensions  of 
an  ecclesiastical  liberty,  or  an  exemption  of  the  persons  of 
the  clergy,  and  the  goods  of  the  church  from  the  civil 
power.  In  advancing  such  opinions,  he  had  the  people  on 
his  side,  and  another  powerful  protector  appeared  for  him 
in  Henry  Percy,  earl -marshal.  This  alarmed  the  court  of 
Rome,  and  Gregory  XI.  issued  several  bulls  against  Wick- 
lirTe, all  dated  May  22,  1377.  One  was  directed  to  the 
archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  bishop  of  London,  whom 
be  delegated  to  examine  into  the  matter  of  the  complaint ; 
another  was  dispatched  to  the  king  himself*  and  a  third  to 
the  university  of  Oxford.  In  the  first,  addressed  to  the 
two  prelates,  he  tells  them,  "  he  was  informed  that  Wick- 
•liffe  had  rashly  proceeded  to  that  detestable  degree  of  mad- 
ness, as  not  to  be  afraid  to  assert,  and  publicly  preach, 
such  propositions,  as  were  erroneous  and  false,  contrary  to 
the  faith,  and  threatening  to  subvert  and  weaken  the  estate 
of,  the  whole  church."  He  therefore  required  them  to 
cause  Wickliffe  to  be  apprehended  and  imprisoned  by  his 
authority ;  and  to  get  his  confession  concerning  his  propo- 
sitions and  conclusions,  which  they  were  to  transmit  to 
Rome ;  as  also  whatever  he  should  say  or  write,  by  way  of 
introduction  or  proof.  But,  if  WicklirTe  could  not  be  ap- 
prehended, they  were  directed  to  publish  a  citation  for  his 
personal  appearance  before  the  pope  within  three  months. 
The  pope  requested  the  king  to  grant  his  patronage  and 
assistance  to  the  bishops  in  the  prosecution  of  Wjckliffe. 
In  the  bull  to  the  university,  he  says,  the  heretical  pravity 
of  WicklirTe  tended  "  to  subvert  the  state  of  the  whole 
church,  and  even  the  civil  government."  And  be  orders 
them  to  deliver  him  up  in  safe  custody  to  the  delegates. 

King  Edward  III.  died  before  these  bulls  arrived  in 
England,  and  the  university  seemed  inclined  to  pay  very 
little  respect  to  the  one  addressed  to  them.  The  duke  of 
Lancaster  and  the  earl-marshal  openly  declared  they  would 
not  suffer  him  to  be  imprisoned,  and  as  yet,  indeed,  the 
bishops'  were  not  authorized  by  law  to  imprison  heretics 
without  the  royal  consent.  The  archbishop  of  Canterbury 
and  the  bishop  of  London,  however,  on  the  19th  Feb.  1378*, 
issued  out  their  mandate  to  the  chancellor  of  the  univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  commanding  them  to  cite  WicklirTe  to  ap- 
pear before  them  in  the  church  of  St.  Paul,  London,  within 
thirty  days.     But  in  such  reputation  was  Wickliffe  ;held  at 


M  W1CKLIF  :F  «. 

•this  time,  that  when,  in  the  interval  before  bis  appearance,, 
the  first  parliament  of  king  Richard  II.  met,  and  debated 
"  whether  they  might  lawfully  refuse  to  send  the  treasure 
'out  of  the  kingdom,  after  the  pope  requited  it  on  pain  of 
^©ensures,  by  virtue  of  the  obedience  due  to  him  r"  the  re- 
solution of  this  doubt  was  referred  by  the  king  and  parli*- 
taient  to  doctor  Wicklifle,  who  undertook  to  prove  the  le- 
•gality  of  their  refusal. 

Such  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  higher  poU*ei* 
/Augured  ill  for  the  success  of  the  prelates  who  had  sum- 
moned him  to  appear  before  them.  On  the  day  appointed, 
«  vast  concourse  assembled,  and  Wickliffe  entered,  accom- 
panied by  the  duke  of  Lancaster  and  the  earl-marshal 
Percy,  wl;o  administered  every  encouragement  to  hioi. 
-But  before  the  proceedings  began,  an  altercation  was  oc~ 
.casioned  by  the  bishop  of  London's  opposing  a  motion  off 
the  earl-marshal,  that  Wickliffe  should  be  allowed  a  seel. 
The  duke  of  Lancaster  replied  to  the  bishop  in  warm  terms, 
.  and  said,  although  rather  softly,  that  "  rather  than  take 
^uch  language  from  the  bishop,  he  would  drag  him  out  of 
-the  church  by  the  hair  of  his  head."  But  this  being  over- 
heard, the  citizens  present  took  part  with  their  bishop,  and 
such  a  commotion  ensued  that  the  ceurt  broke  up  without 
entering  on  the  examination,  while  Wickliffe  was  carried 
*>ff  by  his  friends  in  safety.  The  Londoners,  in  revenge, 
plundered  the  duke  of  Lancaster's  palace  in  the  Savoy,  and 
the  duke  turned  the  mayor  and  aldermen  out  of  the  ma- 
gistracy for  not  restraining  their  violence.  From  these 
circumstances  it  would  appear. that  at  this  time  Wickliffefe 
principles  had  not  been  espoused  by  many  of  the  lower 
classes,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  innovations  in  religious 
matters ;  yet  it  was  not  long  before  be  had  a  strong  party; 
of  adherents  even  among  them,  for  when  lie  was  a  second 
time  cited  by  the  prelates  to  appear  before  them  at  Lanv- 
heth,  the  Londoners  forced  themselves  into  the  chapel  tb 
encourage  him,  and  intimidate  his  judges  and  accusers. 
*On  this  occasion  Wickliffe  delivered  a  paper  to  the  oourt, 
an  which  he  explained  the  charges  against  him,  but  the 
{proceedings  were  again  stopped  by  the  king's  mother,  who 
sent  sir  Lewis  Clifford  to  forbid  their  proceeding  to  any 
-definitive  sentence  against  Wickliffe.  This  completely 
-disconcerted  them,  and  according  to  the  evidence  of  thetr 
<own  historian,  Walsyngham,  changed  their  courage  *  into 
fiuaiUanimity.     "Qui  quam  indevote,"  says  be,  " guam 


t 


WlCXLIFFfi.  SS 

segniter  cemmiss*  itbi  mandate  compleverint,  melius  est 
fliJere  quam  loqoi."  All  they  could  da  wan  .to  enjoin  bim 
silence,  to  which  be  paid  no  regard ;  bis  fol lowers  *in<* 
creased ;  the  death  of  pope  Gregory  XI.  put  an  end  to  the 
commission  of  the  delegates  j  and  when  a  schism  ensued 
by  the  double  election  of  two1  popes,  Wickliffe  wrote  a 
tiact,  "  Of  the  Schism  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs/1  and  soon 
after  published  his  book  "  Of  the  Truth  of  the  Scripture/9 
in  which  he  contended  for  the  necessity  of  translating  the 
scriptures  into  the  English  language,  and  affirmed  that  the 
will  of  God  was  evidently  revealed  in  two  Testaments ;  •  that 
die  law  of  Christ  was  sufficient  to  rule  the  church ;  and 
that  any  disputation*  not  originally  produced  from  thence* 
ouist  be  accounted  profane. 

•  About  this  time*  the  fatigues  he  underwent  in  his  at* 
tendance  on  the  delegates,  threw  him  into  a  dangerous  ill- 
ness on  his  return  to  Oxford.  The  mendicant  friars  took 
this  opportunity  to  send  a  deputation  to  him,  representing 
the  great  injuries  he  bad  done  to  them  by  his  sermons  and 
.  writings,  and*  as  he  was  at  the  point  of  death*  exhorting 
him  to  recbnti  Wickliffe,  however*  recovering  bis  spirits 
at  this  unintended  acknowledgment  of  the  success  of  his 
writings,  raised  himself  on  bis  pillow,  and  replied,  "  t 
shall  not  die,  but  live  to  declare  the  evil  deeds  of  the  friars." 
On  his  recovery  he  embraced  every  opportunity  in  bis  lee* 
tures*  sermons,  or  writings,  of  exposing  the  Romish  court, 
and  detecting  the  vices  of  the  clergy,  both  religious  and 
secular;  and  his  efforts  were  supported  by  certain  proceed* 
ings  of  the  parliament,  which  in  13S0  rendered  foreign 
ecclesiastics  incapable  of  holding  any  Benefices  in  England ; 
and  at  the  same  time  petitioned  the  king  to  expel  all  fo- 
reign monks,  lest  they  should  instil  notions  into  the  people 
repugnant  to  the  welfare  of  the  state. 

But  what  gave  most  .uneasiness  to  his  enemies*  was  his 
having  undertaken  to  translate  the  Holy  Scriptures  into 
English.  These  had  never  been  translated,  except  by  Ri- 
dsard  ifttz-ralph,  archbishop  of  Armagh*  and  John  de  Tre* 
visa,  a  Cornish-man,  who  both  lived  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
III.  Mr.  Lewis  is  of  opinion  that  Wickliffe  began  his 
translation  abont  1379  or  138b.  But  it  is  more  probable 
that  it  wAs  his  chief  employment  for  the  last  ten  years  at 
'  least  of  his*  life,  and  he  had  the  assistance  of  some  of  bis 
followers.  He  translated  from  Latin  into  the  vulgar  tongue, 
the* twenty-five  canonical  .books  of  the  Bible,  which  he 
Vol.  XXXIL  D 


34  WICKLIFFE. 

reckoned  in  the  following  order,  and  we  transcribe  a*  a  ■ 
specimen  of  the  style  and  spelling  of  his  language.    u  l, 
Genesis.     2.  Exodus.     3.  Levitici.     4.  Numeri.  -  5.  De?~ 
teronomi.    6.  Josue.    7.  Iudicum,  that  encloseth  the  story 
of  Ruth.    8,  9.  10.  11.  12.  13.  ben  the  4  Bokes  of  Kyogand 
fweie  Bokes  of  Paralipomenon.     14.  Is  Esdre,  that  cobj- 
prehendeth  Neemy.     15.  Is  Hester.    16.  Is  Job.    17.  Psal- 
ter.   18.  19.  20,  ben  the  3  Bokes  of  Solomon.     21.  22. 23.  ' 
24,  ben  the  four  great  prophets.     25.  Is  a  Boke^of  J  2  small 
Prophets,  Osee,  Joel,  Amos,  Abdie,  Jonas,  Miehee,  Na- 
hum,  Abacuc,  Sophonie,  Aggie,  Zacharie,  and  Madacbie." 
He  adds,  "  That  whatever  .boke  is  in  the  Olde  Testament 
without  these  25  aforesaid,  shal  be  set  among  Apocrypha, 
that  is,  withouten  autoritie  of  belive.     Therefore  as  bolie 
chirch  redith  Judith  and  Tobit,  and  the  Bokes  of  Macba- 
beis  but  receiveth  not  tho'  amonge  holi  scriptures ;  .  so. 
the  chirch  redith  these  2  Bokes  Ecclesiastici,  and  Sapieme 
to  edifying  of  the  people,  not  to  confirme  the  autoritie  of 
techyng  of  holi  chirch.    And  that  therefore  he  translated 
not  the  3  ne  4  Boke  of  Esdree  that  ben  Apocrypha."     The 
books  of  the  New  Testament  he  reckons  in  this  order. 
'VThe  4  Gospellers,  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John; 
12  Epistles  of  Poule;    7   small   Epistles;  the  Dedes  of 
Apostles,  and  the  Apocalyps,  which  ben  fulli  of  autoritie 
of  bvleve."     Mr.  Lewis  observes,  be  translated  word,  for 
word,  without  always  observing  the  idioms  or  proprieties  of 
the  several  languages ;  by  which  means  this  translation  in 
some  places  is  not  very,  intelligible  to  those  who  do  not  un- 
derstand Latin.    The  reason  why  he  made  his  version  from, 
the  Vulgate  was,  not  that  he  thought  it  the  original,  or  of 
the  same  authority  with  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  text,  but, 
because  he  did  not  understand  those  languages  well  enough 
to  translate  from  them. 

Of  this  translation  several  manuscript  copies,  are  extant 
i,u  the  libraries  of  our  universities,  the  British  museum,  and 
other  public  and  private  collections.  The  New  Testament 
was  published  in  1731  fol.  by  Mr,  John  Lewis,  minister  of 
Margate ;  with  a  History  of  the  English  Translations  of 
the  Bible  ;  which  History  was  reprinted  in  1739,  &vo,  with, 
large  additions.  Of  the  style  we  shall  now  exhibit  a  far-, 
ther,  and  more  perfect  specimen,  in  these  three  verses  pf 
Romans  viii.  2 &,  29,  30.  "  And  we  witen,  that  to  men, 
that  louen  God  alle  thing  is  werchen  to  gidre  into^good  to 
hem  that  aftir  purpose-been  clepki  seyntis.    For  thilk  that. 


WlCKLIFfrE,  3i 

he  knew  bifore,  be  bifore  ordeynyde  bi  grace  to  be  maad 
lykto  the  y mage  of  his  Sone,  that  he  be  the  firste  bigeten 
among  manye  britbeten.  And  thilke  that  he  bifore  or- 
deynyde tobliss€y  hem  heclepide,  and  whicbe  be  clepide 
hem  he  justifiede,  and  which  he  justifiede,  and  beta  he 
glorifiede.'* 

In  1381   we  find   Wickliffe  attacking   the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation,  which  was  first  asserted  by  Radbertiis 
about  the  year  820,  and  had  been-  always  propagated  by 
the  Rdinish    church.     Wickliffe  offered   to  support   hi* 
opinion  in  a  public  disputation,  but  as  that  was  prohibited, 
he  published  it  in  a  tract  entitled  "  De  Blasphemia,"  which 
was  condemned  by  William  de  Barton,  chancellor  of  the7 
university,  and  eleven  doctdrs,  of  whom  eight  wer$  of  the 
religious.     Wickliffe  maintained  that  they  had  not  refuted 
Bis  assertions,  arid  Appealed  frdm  their  condemnation  to 
the  king.     In  the  mean  time  William  Courtney,  bishop  of 
London,  succeeded  arbhbishop  Sudbury  in  the  see  of  Can- 
terbury, and  Was  entirely  devoted  to  the  interest  qf  his 
patron  the  pope.     This  prelate  had  before  shewn  himself* 
violent  opposer  of  Wickliffe,  and  now  proceeded  against 
him  and  his  followers.     But  as  soon  as  the  parliament  met 
in  1982;  Wickliffe  presented  his  appeal  to  the  king  and 
both  hduses.     Walsingham  represents  this  as  dorie  with  a 
design  to  draw  the  riobility  irito  erroneous  opinions,  and 
that  it  was  disapproved  by  the   Duke  of  Lancaster,  who 
ordered  Wickiiflfeto  Speak  no  riiore  of  that  matter.    Others 
say  that  the  duke  advised  Wickliffe  not  to  Appeal  to  th^ 
king,  but  submit  to  the  judginent  of  his  Ordinary  ;  upon* 
which,  the  monks  assert,  he  retracted  his  doctrine  at  Ox* 
ford  in  the  presence  of  the'arcbbishop  of  Canterbury,  -six" 
bishops,  and  many  doctors,  surrounded  .With  a  grfeat  con- 
course of  people.     But  th%|Coiifession  whicih  he  read,  irt 
Latin,  was  rather  a  vindita|ipd  of  his  opinion  of  the  sacra- 
ment, as  it  declares  bis  resolution  to  defend  it  with  bis 
blood*  and  maintains  the  contrary  to  be  heresy. 

The  persecution  which  followed  plainly  proves  this  to  b£ 
the  case.     After  the  death  of  the  qUeeri,  Anne  of  Luxem- 
burgi  In  1304*  wbb  was  a  favourer  of  the  Wicfctiflttes,  the 
archbishop,  doiirtney,  assembled  a  court  of  bishops,  in  the . 
monastery  of  the  preaching  friars,  London,  who  declared 
fourteen*    conclusions   of  Wickliffe   arid  others,    heretical' 
ahd  erroneous.  It  is  said  that  Wickliffe  was  prevented  from ' 
appearing  at  this  coiirt  By  fats  friends,  Who  thought  that  a 

V  2 


36  W  I  c  K  L  r  F  f  n. 

plot  was  laid  to  seize  him  on  the  road.  Hit  cause,  how- 
ever, was  undertaken  by  the  chancellor  of  Oxford,  the  two 
proctors,  and  the  greatest  part  of  tbq  senate,  who*  in  a 
letter,  sealed  with  the  university  seal,  and  sent  to  the 
court,  highly  commended  his  learning,  piety,  and  ortbo-* 
dox  faith.  His  particular  friends  and  followers,  Dr.  Nicho- 
las Hereford,  Dr.  Philip  Rapingdon,  and  John  Ayshtpn, 
M.  A.  defended  his  doctrines  both  in  this  court  and  in  the 
convocation.  The  archbishop  still  persisted  in  his  endea- 
vours to  punish  the  Wickliffites,  but  their  doctrines  in- 
creased, while- Wickliffe  himself,  although  obliged  to  quit 
his  professorship  at  Oxford,  lived  peaceably  at  Lutterworth, 
still  divulging  his  principles,  and  increasing  the  number  of 
his  followers.  In  1332,  soon  after  he  left  Oxford,  be  was 
seized  with  the  palsy;  and  about  the  same  time  the  pope 
cited  him  to  appear  at  Rome,  to  which  he  sent  an  excuse, 
pleading,  that  "  Christ  had  taught  him  to  obey  God  ra- 
ther than  man.19  He  was  seized  with  a  second  stroke  of 
palsy  on  Innocent's  day  1384,  as  he  was  in  his  church  of 
Lutterworth,  and  soon  after  expired,  in  the  sixtieth  year 
of  his  age. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1415,  the  council  of  Constance  con* 
damned  forty -five  articles  maintained  by  Wi<?kliffe,  as 
heretical,  false,  and  erroneous.  His  bones  were  ordered 
to  be  dug  up  and  cast  on  a  dunghill;  but  this  part  of  his 
sentence  was  not  executed  till  1428,  when  orders  were  sent 
by  the  pope  to  the  bishop  of  Lincoln  to  have  it  strictly 
performed.  His  remains,  which  had  now  lain  in  the  grave 
forty-four  years,  were  dug  out  and  burnt,  and  the  ashes 
cast  into  an  adjoining  brook,  called  the  Swift,  It  is  said 
that  the  gown  which  Wickliffe  wore  now  covers  tb^  com- 
munion-table of  the  church  of  Lutterworth. 

The  principles  which  this  eminent  reformer  endeavoured 
to  introduce  may  be  gathered  from  the  nineteen  articles 
before-mentioned,  which  were  extracted  from  bi$  public 
lectures  and  sermons,  by  the  monks,  and  sent  to  the  pope. 
It  appears  that  he  held  the  doctrine  of  predestination  in  as 
strong  a  sense  ks  any  who  bate  since  supported  it,  and,  in 
the  opinion  of  a  late  writer,  carries  it  much  farther  than 
any  modern  or  ancient  writers  have  attempted.  He  was, 
indeed,  an  absolute  necessitarian,  and  among  certain  ar- 
ticles extracted  from  his  works  by  Thomas  Netfer  (com- 
monly called  Thomas  of  Walden,  who  flourished  *bout 
1409)  we  find  the  following,  «  That  all  things  come  te  pass 


W  I  C  K  L  I  P  F  K.  37 

by  fatal  necessity ;  that  God  could  not  make  the  world 
otherwise  than  it  is  tnade ;  and  that  God  cannot  do  any 
thing  which  he  doth  not  do."  Other  less  unguarded  ex- 
pressions have  been  laid  to  his  charge,  of  which  Fuller  ob- 
serves, that  were  all. his  works  extant,  "  we  might  read  the 
occasion,  intention,  and  connection  of  what  be  spake,  to-, 
gether  with  the  limitations,  restrictions,  distinctions,  and 
qualifications,  of  what  he  maintained.  There  we  might  see 
what  was  the  overplus  of  bis  passion,  and  what  the  just  , 
measure  of  his  judgment"  He  maintained,  with  the  church 
in  after-times,  the  doctrine  of  pardon  and  justification  by 
the  alone  death  and  righteousness  of  Christ.  The  several 
points  in  which  he  differed  from  the  then  established  po- 
pery were  these ;  the  reading  of  the  bible  in  the  vulgar 
tongue,  and  making  them  the  sole  role  of  a  Christian's  faith 
and  practice,  without  faith  in  tradition,  or  any  human  au- 
thority ;  his  opposing  the  pope's  supremacy  and  infallibility; 
his  rejecting  and  condemning  transubstantiation,  indul- 
gences, confession,  and  absolution,  extreme  unction ;  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy ;  forced  vows  of  chastity  ;  prayers 
to,  and  worship  of  saints,  shrines  and  pilgrimages.  But 
the  opinions  which  rendered  him  most  obnoxious  in  his  day, 
were  those  which  struck  at  the  temporal  dominion  of  the 
pope,  and  which  occasioned  many  of  his  followers  to  be 
persecuted  in  the  subsequent  reigns  of  Richard  II.  Henry 
IV.  and  Henry  V. 

His  works  are  very  voluminous,  yet  he  seems  not  to  have 
engaged  in  any  great  work.  They  are,  more  properly 
speaking,  tracts,  some  of  which  were  written  in  Latin,  and 
some  in  English;  some  were  on  school-questions;  others 
on  subjects  of  more  general  knowledge ;  but  the  greatest 
part  on  divinity.  Mr.  Gilpin  has  given  a  list  of  the  mdre 
remarkable.  Bale  has  a  more  particular  account.  Some 
ar*  preserved  in  Trinity  and  Corpus  colleges,  Cambridge, 
a  few  in  Trinity  college,  Dublin,  in  the  Bodleian,  and 
in  the  British  museum.  Mr.  Baber,  in  his  late  edition 
of  the  New  Testament,  has  given  the  fullest  and  most 
accurate  account  of  these.  The  following  list  comprises 
all  that  have  been  printed  :  I.  "  TrialogUs,"  a  dialogue  in 
Latin,  between  Truth,  Falsehood,  and  Wisdom,"  printed 
somewhere  in  Germany,  about  1525,  4to,  pp.  175.  This 
is  .very  scarce,  having  been  mostly  destroyed. by  the  Ro- 
manists *,  but  a  n?w  edition  of  it  was  printed  at  Frank- 

*  See  Ames  Topng.  Antiq.  p.  1535.     Mr.  Ames  purchased  a  copy  at  Dr  . 
Evans's  sale  for  3/.  14s. 


38  W  I  C  K  L  I  F  F  I. 

fpjrt,  1 7  5 3, 4 to.  2."  Wickiif 's  Wicket,  or,  a  learned  and  godly 
treatise  of  the  Sacrament,"  Nor im berg,  1546,  8vo,  and  Ox* 
ford,  1612,  4to.  3.  "  The  pathway  to  perfect  knowledge, 
or  WicklinVs  Prologue  to  the  Bible/'  published  by  Robert 
Crowley,  i'550,  l2mo.  4.  "  The  dore  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture?"  I 540,  8vo.  5.  "  JJe  Christianorum  .  villi  catione," 
iqt  JCnglisb,  published  in  1582,  under  the  name  of  R.  Wi<n? 
Vledon.  6.  "  A  Complaint  of  John  Wickliffe,  exhibited  to 
the  king  and  parliament,"  7.  "  A  Treatise  of  John  Wick- 
liffe against  t^e  orcjer  of  Friars.*'  These*  two  were  pub- 
lished together  at  Oxford  in  1608,  4to,  by  Dr.  James,  from, 
(wo  TVJS  copies,  one  in  Bene't  college,  Cambridge,  the 
other  in  the  Bodleian  library.  8.  "  Why  popr  Priests  have 
no  Benefice^,"  published  by  Mr.  Lewis  in  bis  lire  of  Wick- 
liffe, who  hps  also  published  there,  his  Determination, 
Confessions,  apd  large  extracts  from  his  wprks  remaining 
in  MS.  together  with  bis  New  Testament.  His  opinions 
are  also  particularly  detailed  in  Dr.  Thomas  James's  "  ApQ- 
Jogie  for  Jotjn  Wickliffe,  shewing  his  conformitie  witji  the 
new  Church  of  England ;"  collected  chiefly  out  of  his  MS 
works  in  the  $ocUpian  library,  ^nd  printed  at  Oxford,  1608, 
4to,  now  very  scarce. 

We  have  mentioned  J.ewjs's  edition  of  WicklirTe's  New 
f  estament.  Of  this  a  new,  elegant,  and  very  correct  se* 
pond  edition  was  published  in  1810  by  the  rev,  Henry  Her- 
vey  Baber,  M.  A.  F.  R.  S.  librarian  of  printed  books  iu  the 
British  museum,  in  a  4Jo  vplume.  To  this  are  prefixed 
"Mepojrs  pf  the  Life,  opinions,,  aud  writings"  of  Wick* 
]i£fe'  to  whicfi  wp  wquld  refpr  our  readers  for  mud}  original 
information  and  ingenious  research  ;  and  a  very  learned 
"  Historical  appount  of  the  Saxon  and  English  yersions  of 
thi^Scriptures,  previous,  tp  the  opening  of  the  fifteenth 
perjury."  It  was  the  intention  of  this  excellent  editor  to 
have  attempted  an  edition  of  Wickliffe's  translation  of  die 
Old  Testament,  but  no  sufficient  encouragement,  we  add 
with  surprise  apd  shame,  h?s  yef  been  offered  to  so  import- 
ant an  additipn  to  our  translations  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. l    - 

WICQUE^ORT  (Abraham  j>E)f  famous  for  his  em- 
bassies and  his  writings,  was  a  Hollander,  smd  born  in  1598; 
put  it  is  not  certain  at  what  place,  though  some  h?we  men- 
tioned Amsterdam.     He  left  his  country  v^ry  young,  and 

v  *  Lewis's  Life  of  Wickliffe.— Bauer's  Life  prefixed  to  the  New  Testament.—. 
Sky.  Brit— Fuller's  Ch.  Hiftory.-Gjlpio'i  Life  of  Wjckliffe.-^Wowi'i  Anpafc, 


WIC^QUEFORT,  S9 

went,  and  settled  in  France,  where  be  applied  himself  di- 
ligently to  political  studies,  and  sought  to  advance  himself 
by  political  services.  Having  made  himself  ^mown  to  the 
elector  of  Brandenburg,  this  prince  appointed  him  his  re- 
sident at  the  court  of  France,  about  *626  ;  and  he  pre- 
served this  post  twor-and-thirty  years,  that  is,  till  1658. 
Then  he  fell  into  disgrace  with  cardinal  Mazarin,  who  never 
had  much  esteem  for  him,  and  particularly  disliked  bis  at- 
tachment to  the  house  of  Condi.  The  cardinal  accused 
him  of  having  sent  secret  intelligence  to  Holland  and  other 
places  ;  and  he  was  ordered  to  leave  the  court  and  the  kingr 
dom :  but,  before  he  set  out,  he  was  seized  and  sent  tQ 
the  'Bastille.  M.  le  Tellier  wrote  at  the  same  time  to  the 
elector  of  Brandenburg,  to  justify  the  action  ;  which  be  did 
by  assuring  him  that  his  minister  was  an  intelligencer  in 
the  pay  of  several  princes.  The  year  after,  however  (1659), 
he  was  set  at  liberty,  and  escorted  by  a  guard  to  Calais ; 
whence  be  passed  over  to  England,  and  thence  to  Holland* 
There  De  Witt,  the  pensionary,  received  him  affectionately, 
and  protected  him  powerfully :  he  had  indeed  been  the 
victim  of  De  Witt,  with  wboA  he  had  carried  on.  a  secret 
correspondence,  which  was  discovered  by  intercepted  let* 
ters.  He  reconciled  himself  afterwards  to  France,  and 
heartily  espoused  its  interests ;  whether  out  of  spite  to  the 
prince  of  Orange,  or  from  some  other  motive;  and  the 
count  d'Estrades  reposed  the  utmost  confidence  in  him. 
For  the  present,  the  duke  of  Brunswic-Lunenburg  made 
him  bis  resident  at  the  Hague ;  9nd  be  was  appointed*  he- 
sides  this,  secretary-interpreter  of  the  States.  Gepejral  for 
foreign  dispatches. 

.  The  ministry  of  De  Witt  being  charged  with  great  events, 
the  honour  of  the  commonwealth,  as  well  as  of  the  pen- 
sionary, required  that  they  should  be  written;  and  Wicque- 
fort  was  selected  as  the  properest  person  for  such  a  work. 
He  wrote  this  history  under  the  inspection,  as  well  as  pro- 
tection, of  the  pensionary,  who  furnished  him  with  such 
memoirs  as  he  wanted,  and  he  had  begun  the  printing  of 
it  when,  being  accused  of  holding  secret  correspondence 
with  the  enemies  of  the  States,  he  was  made  prisoner  at 
the  Hague  in  Mareh  1676  ;  and,  November  following,  con- 
demned to  perpetual  imprisonment,  and  to  the  forfeiture 
of  all  his  effects.  His  son  published  this  sentence  in  Qer- 
many  the  year  after,,  with  remarks,  which  he  addressed  to 
the  plenipotentiaries  assembled  then  at  Nimeguen  to  treat 


4$  W  I  O  Q  U  E  >  O  B  T. 

pF  peace :  but  these  powers  did  not  think  proper  to  meddle 
with  the  affair,  Wicqfuefort  amused .  himself  with  conti* 
noing  his  hisQpry  of  the  United  Provinces,  which  he  inters 
Spersed,  as  was  natural  for  a  mair  in  bit  situation,  with 
satirical strokes,  not  only  against. the  prince  of  Grange, 
whom  he  personally  bated,  but  also  against  the  government 
Md  the  court  of  justice  who  had  condemned  him.  This 
work  was  published  at  the  Hague  in  1719,  with  this  title, 
f4  L'Htstoire  des  Provinces  Unies  des  Pays-Bas,  depuis  le 
paifait  6taMissement  de  cet  Etat  par  la  Pass  de  Munster:'' 
it  contains  1 174  pages  in  folio,  246  of  which  were  printed 
pff  when  the  author  was  thrown  into  prison. 

He  continued  under  restraint  till  1679,  and  then  con-* 
trived  to  escape  by  the  assistance  of  one  of  bis  daughters, 
jrbo  ran  the  risk  of  her  own  liberty  in  order  to  procure  his* 
By  exchanging  clothes  with  the  lady,  he  went  out,  and 
look  refnge  at  the  court  of  the  duke  of  Zell ;  from  which 
he  withdrew  in  1681,  disgusted,  because  that  prince  would 
not  act  with  more  zeal  in  procuring  bis  sentence  to  be  re- 
versed at  the  Hpgue*  it  is  not  known  what  became  of  him 
fjfeer;  but  He  is  said  to  have  died  in  1682.  His  f*  L'Am* 
bassadeur  et  ses  Fonctions,"  primed  at  the  Hague,  168l£ 
in  2  vols.  4to,  is  his  principal  work,  and  is  a  very  curious 
miscellany  of  facts  and  remarks,  the  latter  not  always  pro- 
found, but  often  useful.  He  published  also  in  1677,  du« 
ring  his  imprisonment,  "  M6moires  toucbant  les  Ambassa* 
deurs  et  les  tylinistres  publics.91  He  translated  some  books 
of  trayels  from  the  German  into  French  ;  and  also  from  the 
8panisb,  "  L'Ambassadp  de  P.  Garcias  de  8tlva  Figuerea 
en  Perse,  cont^nant  la  Politique  de  ce  grand  Empire,"  &c. 
These  works,  which  Wicquefort  was  at  the  pains  to  trans- 
late, are  said  to  contain  many  curious  and  interesting 
things.  * 

WIDDRINGTON  (Sir  Thomas),  an  eminent  lawyer, 
and  speaker  of  the  Hpose  of  Commons,  during  the  usur? 
palion,  was  of  an  ancient  fyp>ily  in  Northumberland,  and 
was  educated  partly  at  Oxford  and  partly  at  Cambridge. 
He  afterwards  entered  of  Gray's-inn,  to  ftudy  the  law, 
in  which  he  advanced  with  considerable  rapidity,  and  was 
chosen  recorder,  first  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  and  se* 
condly  of  York.  He  was  knighted  by  Charles  L  in  1639 
it  York,  and,  as  recorder,  congratulated  bis  paajfsty  both" 

*  Jticeron,  vol.  XXX^n.— Moreri.— Diet.  Hitt 


WIDDRINGTOK  41 

it  York  and  Berwiok,  urban  he  was  on  his  way  to  be  crowed 
king  of  Scotland.  Both  bis  addresses  on  this  Occasion  am 
laid  to  hare  been  perfectly  courtly  and  even  fulsome,  but 
he  was  soon  to  change  hit  style  as  well  as  his  opinions. 
Being  returned  member  of  parliament  for  Berwick,  he  be- 
came a  warm  advocate  for  the  liberty  then  contested; 
avowed  himself  in  religion,  one  of  the  independent  sect, 
and  took  the  covenant.  In  June  1647,  he  was  so  much  a 
favourite  with  the  parliament  that  they  appointed  him  one 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  great  seal,  which  office  be  was 
to  retain  for  one  year,  but  held  it  till  the  king's  death.  The 
parliament  also  named  him,  in  Oct.  1648,  one  in  their  call 
of  seijeants,  and  soon  after  declared  him  king's  seijednt. 
Bot  far  as  he  had  gone  wkh  the  usurping  powers,  he  was 
by  no  means  pleased  with  the  commonwealth  form  of  go* 
▼eminent,  and  immediately  after  the  king's  death,  sur- 
rendered his  office  of  keeper  of  the  great  sea),  first  upon 
the  plea  of  bad  health,  and  when  that  was  not  allowed,  he 
set  up  some  scruples  of  conscience.  The  parliament,  how- 
ever, as  he  continued  to  allow  their  authority,  in  requital  of 
his  former  services,  ordered  that  he  should  practice  within 
the  bar,  and  gave  him  a  quarter's  salary  more  than  was  due. 
His  merit  also  recommended  him  to  Cromwell,  who  heaped 
honours  and  great  employments  upon  him.  In  April  1654, 
he  was  appointed  a  commissioner  of  the  great  seal  and  a 
commissioner  of  the  treasury,  for  which  be  received  a 
salary  of  1000/. ;  and  all  his  conscientious  scrapie*  seemed 
now  at  an  end.  In  August  of  the  same  year,  be  was  elected 
member  of  parliament  for  the  city  of  York ;  and  in  the 
following  year,  became  a  committee-man  for  ejecting  scan* 
dalous  ministers  in  the  north  riding  of  that  county. 

In  1656,  he  represented  both  Northumberland  and  the 
city  of  York  in  parliament,  and  being  chosen  Speaker,  was 
approved  by  Cromwell.  His  salary  as  speaker  was  1929/. 
besides  Si.  for  every  private  act,  and  the  like  sum  for  every 
stranger  made  a  free  denizen ;  when  ill  he  appointed  White- 
lock  for  his  deputy,  as  we  noticed  in  the  life  of  that  states- 
man. In  June  1658  he  was  appointed  lord  chief  baron  of 
the  exchequer,  and  in  Jan.  1660,  one  of  the  council  of  state 
and  a  Commissioner  of  the  great  seal.  He  was  returned  both 
for  Berwick  and  York  in' the  parliament  called  in  this  year, 
and  by  some  interest  in  the  court  of  the  restored  khig, 
Charles  II.  he  was  included  in  the  call  of  Serjeants,  June  1, 
1660.    It  was  thought  somewhat  singular,  and  even  mean 


43  VlDDRIN  GTO  N. 

that  be  should  have  submitted  to  this,  as  he  bad  so  long 
borne  tbat  title,  bad  filled  high  offices  in  the  state,  was  by 
no  means  a  young  man,  and  was  possessed  of  a  considerable 
fortune.  With  regard  to  bis  fortuue,  however,  be  had  suf- 
fered some  loss.  He  and  Thomas  Coghill,  esq.  bad  pur- 
chased the  manor  of  Crayke,  belonging  to  Durham-  cathe- 
dra], which  was  now  ordered  to  revfert  to  the  church  again. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  some  compensation,  he  was  appointed 
temporal  chancellor  for  life  of  tbat  bishopric.  He  died  May 
13, 1664,  and  was  buried  in  the  chancel  of  St.  Giles's  in  the 
fields,  where  a  handsome  monument  agairist  the  north  wall 
was  placed  by  bis  four  surviving  daughters,  ten  yeara  after, 
but  it  does  not  now  exist.  Although  sir  Thomas  had  drank 
deep  in  the  spirit  of  the  times,  we  are  told  tbat  his  great 
abilities  were  only  equalled  by  his  integrity,  and  it  was  pro* 
bably  the  latter  which  procured  him  favour  after  the  resto- 
ration. He  married  Frances,  daughter  of  lord  Fairfax,  of 
Cameron,  and  sister  of  lord  Fairfax,  the. parliamentary  ge- 
neral; she  died  in  1649,  and  likewise  lies  buried  in  St. 
Qiles's. 

Mr.  Noble,  from  whose  "  Memoirs  of  Cromwell1'  we  have 
borrowed  the  above  account,  says  that  sir  Thomas  published 
in  1660  "  Analecta  Eborensw>  or  some  remains  of  the  an- 
cient city  of  York,"  &c.  but  this  is  a  mistake.  He  only  left 
a  MS.  account,  under  the  title  of  "  Analecta  Eboractntia  : 
or  some  remains  of  the  ancient  city  of  York,  collected  by 
a  citizen  of  York."  Mr.  Gougb  informs  us  that  the  above 
MS.  was  in  the  hands  of  Thomas  Fairfax  of  Menston,  esq; 
Sir  Thomas  began  bis  researches  in  Charles  Ps  time,  and 
after  the  restoration  offered  to  print  this  work,  and  dedicate 
it  to  the  city  of  York,  who  seem  to  have  refused  it  on  ac- 
count of  the  indifference  he  shewed  to  their  interests  when 
he  represented  them  in  Cromwell's  parliament.  Upon  this 
he  is  said  to  have  expressly  forbid  his  descendants  to  pub- 
lish it.  Besides  the  Menston  MS.  there  was  another  copy 
at  Durham,  in  the  Sbaftoe  family,  one  of  whom  married  a 
daughter  of  the  author,  Mr.  Drake  had  the  use  of  one  among 
the  city  records,  and  another  from  sir  Richard  Smyth  of  St* 
Edmund's  Bury,  which  he  thinks  was  prepared  by  the  au* 
thor  himself  for  the  press,  and  might  have  pasSed  through 
different  hands  on  the  death  of  lord  Fairfax, , and  dis- 
persion of  his  effects.  Another  copy,  or  perhaps  one  of 
those  just  mentioned,  is  among  Mr.  Gough's  topographical 
treasures  in  the  Bodleian  library.     There  are  some  of  sir 


W  I  E  L  A  N  D,  4S 


M 


Thomas's  public  speeches  in  Rushworth's  "  Collections, 
and  others,  according  to  Wood,  were  printed  separately.  * 

WIDMANSTADIUS,  John.  See  John  Albeeti,  but 
ought  to  have  been  placed  here,  as  we  ha? e  since  disco- 
vered by  Chaufepie.    His  proper  name  was  John  Albert 

WlDMANSTADT. 

WI ELAND  (Christopher  Martin),  a  voluminous  Ger- 
man writer  who  has  been  complimented  with  the  title  of 
the  Voltaire  of  Germany,  was  born  in  1733,  at  Biberr.di. 
Of  bis  life  no  authentic  account  has,  as  far  as  we  know, 
reached  this  country,  but  the  following  few  particulars, 
gleaned  from  various  sources,  may  perhaps  be  genuine, 
Pis  father  was  a  clergyman,  who  gave  him  a  good  educa- 
tion, $md  his  attachment  to  the  Muses  discovered  itself  very 
early*    At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  wrote  a  poem  on  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem.     Two  years  after  he  was  sent  tp 
Erfurt  to  study  the  sciences,  where  be  became  enamoured 
of  Sophia  de  Gusterman,  afterwards  known  by  the  name  of 
Madame  de  la  Roche.    The  youthful  lovers  swore  eternal 
fidelity  to  each  other,  but  Wieland's  father  thought  proper 
to  interrupt  the  connection,  and  sent  bis  son  to  Tubingen 
to  study  law.     For  this  he  probably  bad  little  inclination, 
and  employed  most  of  his  thoughts  and  time  on  poetry, 
producing  at  the  age  of  eighteen  an  "  Art  of  Love"  in  the 
jpanner  of  Ovid,  and  a  poem  "  On  the  nature  of  things," 
in  which  we  are  told  he  combined  the  philosophy  of  Plato 
and  Leibnitz.     After  this  he  appears  to  have  devoted  him- 
self entirely  to  study  and  writing,  and  acquired  considerable 
reputation  as  a  poet  of  taste  and  fancy.     For  some  time  he 
appears  to  have  resided  in  Swisserland,  and  in  1760  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  place,  where  he  was  apppinted  to  the 
office  of  director  of  the  chancery,  and  during  his  leisure 
hours  wrote  some  of  those  works  which,  completely  estab- 
lished him  in  the  opinion  of  his  countrymen,  as  one  of  the 
greatest  geniuses  of  the  age,  and  honours  were  liberally 
bestowed  upon  him.    The  elector  of  Mentz  made  him.  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  and  polite  literature  at  Erfurt,  and  he 
was  soon  after  appointed  tutor  to  the  two  young  princes  of 
Saxe  Weimar ;  he  was  also  aulic  counsellor  to  the  duke, 
who  gave  him  a  pension ;  and  counsellor  of  government  to 
the  elector  of  Mentz.     In  1765  be  married  a  lady  at  Augs- 

9  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  II.— Noble's  Memoirs  of  Cromwell,  vol.  f.  p.  4S7.— Gough't 
Topography,  and  Catalogue  of  the  Library  teft  to  the  Bodleian. 


44  W  I  E  L  A  N  D. 

burgh,-  of  whom  he  speaks  to  highly  that  we  may  conclude 
he  had  overcome  or  moderated  his  attachment  to  the  object 
of  hi*  first  love.  In  1808  Bonaparte  sent  hiin  the  cross  of 
the  legion  of  honour,  and  after  the  battle  of  Jena,  paftook 
Of  a  repast  with  Wieland,  and,  we  are  gravely  told,  "  con- 
versed with  him  at  great  length  on  the  folly  and  horrors  of 
war  and  on  various  projects  for  the  establishment  of  a  per- 
petual peace/"  Wieland's  latter  days  were  employed  in 
translating  Cicero's  Letters.  A  paralysis  of  the  abdominal 
viscera  was  the  prelude  to  bis  death,  which  took  place  at 
Weimar,  in  January  1813,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his 
age. 

Wieland  was  the  author  of  a  prodigious  number  of  works 
(of  which  there  is  an  edition  extending  to  forty -two  vo- 
lumes, quarto),  both  in  prose  and  verse,  poems  of  all 
kinds,  and  philosophical  essays,  dialogues,  tales,  &c.  Of\ 
these,  the  "  Oberon,"  (by  Mr.  Sotheby's  elegaht  transla- 
tion) the  "  Agathon,"  and  some  others,  are  not  unknown, 
although  they  have  never  been  very  popular,  in  this  coun- 
try.. In  what  estimation  be  is  held  in  his  own,  may  ap- 
pear from  otie  of  the  many  panegyrics  which  German  cri- 
tic* have  pronounced  on  his  merit :  "  No  modern  poet  has 
written  so  much,  or  united  so  much  deep  sense  with  so 
much  wit,  such  facility  and  sweetness.  It  may  be  truly 
said  of  htm,  that  he  has  gone  through  the  wide  domain  of 
human  occupations,  and  knows  all  that  happens  in  heaven 
and  in  earth.  A  blooming  imagination  and  a  creative  wit ; 
a  deep,  thinking,  philosophical  mind  ;  fine  and  just  sense, 
and  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  both  the  moderns  and 
ancients,  are  discernible  in  all  his  various  writings.  He 
knows  how  to  make  the  most  abstract,  metaphysical  ideas 
sensible,  by  the  magic  of  his  eloquence ;  he  can  make 
himself  of  all  times  and  all  countries ;  be  observes  the  cus- 
toms of  every  country,  and  knows  how  to  join  truth  with 
miracles,  sensible  with  spirited  imagery,  and  romance  with 
tbe  most  profound  morality.  In  the  '  Agathon9  he  seems 
a  Grecian ;  and  in  the  '  Fairy  Tales*  a  knight-errant, 
who  wanders  amidst  fairies,  vizards,  and  monsters.  All  bis 
tales  abound  in  portraits,  comparisons,  and  parallels,  taken 
from  old  and  modern  times,  full  of  good  sense  and  truth. 
The  understanding,  the  heart,  and  the  fancy,  are  equally 
satisfied.*  His  verse  is  easy;  there  is  not  a  word  too 
much,  or  an  idle  false  thought.  He  is  as  excellent  in  co- 
mical portraits  as  in  tbe  delineations  of  manners.     The 


WIELAND.  44 

knowledge  of  Epicurus,  the  muses  of  frolic  and  ittire,  of 
romance  end  fairy  land ;  the  solidity  of  Locke,  and  the  deep 
reuse,  of  Plato ;  Grecian  eloquence,  and  Oriental  luxuri* 
ance>  what  excites  admiration  in  the  writings  of  the  best 
masters1  are  united  in  his  immortal  works."  Such  is  the 
opinion  of  his  countrymen ;  to  which,  however,  it  is  our 
duty  to  add,  that  in  many  of  his  works  the  freethinking* 
system  is  predominant,  and  that  the  moral  tendency  of 
others  is  very  doubtful. l 

WICK  (John),  an  able  physician,  called  in  Latin 
Wfgnua,  and  sometimes  Pjscinarius,  was  born  in  1515,  at 
(f  rave,  o\\  the  Meuse,  in  the  duchy  of  Brabant,  of  a  noble 
family.  He  studied  philosophy  under  the  famous  Henry 
Cornelius  Agrippa ;  made  several  voyages  even  to  Africa, 
but  returned  again  into  Europe,  and  was  physician  to  the 
duke  of  Cfeves  during  thirty  years.  Wier  had  so  strong  a 
constitution,  that  he  frequently  passed  three  or  four  days 
without  eating  ©r  drinking,  and  found  not  the  least  incon* 
venience  from  it,  H*  died  suddenly  Feb.  4,  1588^  at 
Tccklenbourg,  a  German  town  in  the  circle  of  Westphalia, 
in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age.  His  works  were  printed 
at  Amsterdam,  4  660,  one  volume,  quarto,  which  includes 
hi*  treatise  "  De  Prestigiis  et  Incantationibus,"  translated 
into  French,  by  James  Grevin  1577,  8ve.  He  maintains 
in  this  work,  that  those  accused  of  witchcraft  were  persons 
whose  brain  was  disordered  by  melancholy,  whence  they 
imagined  falsely,  and  without  any  reason,  that  tbey  bad 
dealings  with  the  devil,  and  were  therefore  deserving  of 
pity  rjuher  than  of  punishment.  It  seems  strange  that,  with 
this  opinion,  Wier  should  in  other  instances  give  the  readiest 
eredit  to  fabulous  stories.  The  above  mentioned  book  made 
much  noise.' 

WIGAND  (Johk),  a  learned  divine  of  the  reformed  re- 
ligion,  was  born  at  Mansfeld  in  Upper  Saxony  in  1523. 
His  parents,  who  were  of  the  middle  rank,  perceiving  his 
love  of  learning,  gave  him  a  good  education  at  school, 
whence  he  was  sent  to  the  university  of  Wirtemberg,  where 
he.  studied  the  arts  and  languages  for  about  three  years ; 
atfeadiogf  at  the  same  time,  the  lectures  of  Luther  and 
tyelancthon.  He  became  also  acquainted  with  other  con- 
tributor* to  the  reformation,  as  Cruciger,  Justus  Jonas,  6ta.» 

1  Diet.  Hift  —Gent.  Ms*.  Ice.  fee.  .        v 

*  ^by  Diet.  Hist,  de  Medicine.— Diet.  Hist. 


*  . 

V 


46  WI&A^lJ. 

t 

and  heard  the  Greek  lectures  of  Vitus.  In  1541,  by  the? 
fedvice  of  bis  tutors  and  friends,  be  went  to  Noriberg, 
where  he  was  made  master  of  St.  Lawrence-school,  and 
taught  there  for  three  years ;  but  being  desirous  of  adding 
to  his  own  knowledge,  under  the  ablest  instructors,  he  re- 
turned to  Wirtemberg  again*  There  he  commenced  M.  A. 
before  he  was  twenty-two  years  old,  and  begun  the  study 
of  divinity,  which; he  engaged  in  with  great  assiduity,  until 
the  events  of  the  war  dispersed  the  students  of  this  univer- 
sity. -He  then  was  invited  to  his  native  place,  Mansfeld, 
where  he  was  ordained,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
who  was  ordained  after  the  establishment  of  the  Protestant: 
religion.  Hesoon  became  a  very  useful  and  popularpreacher, 
and  oh  the  week-days  read  lectures  to  the  youth  in  logic 
and  philosophy.  While  here,  at  the  request  of  the  super- 
intendent, John  Spangenberg,  he  wrote  a  confutation  of 
Sidonius's  popish  catechism,  which  was  afterwards  printed 
both  in  Latin  and  Dutch.  He  wrote  also  a  confutation  of 
George  Majors  who  held  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith/ 
but  not  saved,  &c.  He  was  one  of  those  who  strongly  op* 
posed  the  Interim. 

His  great  delight,  in  the  way  of  relaxation  from  his  more 
serious  engagements,  was  in  his  garden,  in  which  he 
formed  a  great  collection  of  curious  plants.  Haller  men- 
tions his  publication  "  De  succino  Borussico,  de  Alee,  de 
Herbis  Borussicis,  et  de  Sale,"  1590,  8vo.  which  Freher 
and  other  biographers  speak  of  as  three  distinct  publica- 
tions. In  1553  he  was  chosen  superintendant  of  Magde- 
burg, but  the  count  Mansfeld  and  his  countrymen  strongly 
opposed  his  removal  from  them,  yet  at  last,  in  consequence- 
of  the  application  of  the  prince  of  Anhalt, '  consented  to  it. 
A\  Magdeburg,  by  his  preaching  and  writings  he  greatly 
promoted  the  reformed  religion,  and  had  a  considerable  hand 
in  the  voluminous  collection,  entitled  "  The  Magdeburg 
Centuries,"  which  Sturmius  used  to  say  had  four  excellent 
qualities,  truth,  research,  order,  and  perspicuity*  In  1560, 
on  the  foundation  of  the  university  of  Jena  by  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  he  was  solicited  by  his  highness  to  become  pro-1 
fessor  of  divinity,  and  performed  the  duties  of  that  office 
until  some  angry  disputes  between  Illyricus  and  Strigelius 
inclined  him  to  resign.  He  was  after  a  short  stay  at  Mag-< 
deburg,  chosen,  in  1562,  to  be  superintendant  at  Wismar. 
He  now  took  his  degree  of  doctor  in  divinity  at  the  univer- 
sity of  Rostock,  and  remained  at  Wismar  seven  years,  at 


s 


W  I  G  A  N  0.  4* 

the  end  of  which  a  negotiation  was  set  on  foot  for  his  re- 
turn to  Jena,  where  he  was  made  professor  of  divinity  and 
superintendant.  -  Five  years  after  he  was  again  obliged  to 
leave  that  university,  when  the  elector  Augustus  succeeded 
bis  patron  the  elector  William.  On  this  be  went  to  the  duke 
of  Brunswick'  who  entertained  him  kindly,  and  he  was  soon  " 
after  invited  to  the  divinity -professorship  of  Konigsberg, 
and  in  two  years  was  ^appointed  bishop  there.  He  died 
1 587,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  He  wrote  a  pro* 
digious  number  of  works,  principally  commentaries  on 
different  parts  of  the  Bible,  and  treatises  on  the  contro- 
versies with  the  popish  writers.  He  was  esteemed  a  man 
of  great  learning,  a  profound  theologian  and  lib  (ess  esti- 
mable in  private  life.  He  rankftiigh  Among  the  promoters 
of  the  reformation  in  Germany.1 

.  WILCOCKS  (Joseph),  a  late  amiable  and  ingenious 
writer,  was  the  only  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  Wikocks,  of  whom 
we  have  the  following  particulars.  He  waa  born  in  1673, 
and  was  educated  at  Magdalen-eollege,  Oxford,  .where  be 
formed  a  lasting  friendship  wi A  Mr.  Boulter,  •  afterwards 
primate  of  Ireland;  Mr.  WHcocks  was  chosen  •  a  demy  of 
his  college  at  the  same  election  with  Boulter  and  Addison, 
and  from  the  merit  and  learning  of  the  elect,  this  was  com- 
monly called  by  Dr.  Hougb,  president  of  the  college, 
"  the  golden  election."  He  was  ordained  by  bishop  Sprat, 
and  while  a  young  man,  went  chaplain  to  the  -English  fac- 
tory at  Lisbon ;  where,  as  in  all  the  other  scenes  of  his ' 
life,  he  acquired  the  public  love  and  esteem,  and  was  long 
remembered  with  grateful  respect.  While  here,  such  was' 
his  sympathy  and  his  courage,  that  although  he  had  not 
then  had  the  small-pox,  yet  when  that  dreadful  malady 
broke  out  in  the  factory,  he  constantly  attended  the  sick 
and  dying.  On  bis  return  to  England,  be  Was  appointed 
chaplain  to  George  I.  and  preceptor  to  his  royal  grand- 
daughters, the  children  of  George  II.  He  also  had  a  pre- 
bend of  Westminster,  and  in  1721  was  made  bishop  of 
Gloucester,  the  episcopal  palace  of  which  he  repaired, 
which  for  a  considerable  time  before  had  stood  uninhabited; 
and  thus  he  became  the  means  of  fixing  the  residence  of 
future  bishops  in  that  see.  In  1731  he  was  translated  to 
the  bishopric  of  Rochester,  with  which  he  held  the  deanry  . 
of  Westminster.     Seated  in  this  little  diocese,  he  declined 

1  Melobior  Adftfn.— •  Freheri  Thcatjrum  — *^axii  Ooomast* 


48  W  I  L  C  O  C  K  S. 

any  higher  promotion,  even  that  of  the  Archbishopric  of 
York,  frequently  using  the  memorable  expression  of  bi- 
shop Fisher,  one  of  his  predecessors,  "Though  this  my 
wife  be  poor,  I  must  not  think  of  changing  her  for  one 
more  opulent."  The  magnificence  of  the  west-front  of 
Westminster-abbey,  during  his  being  dean,  is  recorded  as 
a  splendid  monument  of  bis  zeal  for  promoting  public 
works,  in  suitable  proportion  to  his  station  in  life.  He 
would  doubtless  have  been  equally  zealous  in  adorning 
and  enlarging  his  cathedral  at  Rochester,  bad  there  T>een 
grouqd  to  hope  for  national  assistance  in  that  undertaking ; 
but  its  episcopal  revenues  were  very  inadequate  to  the  ex- 
pence.  He  was  constantly  resident  upon  his  diocese,  and 
from  the  fatigue  of  bis  last  Visitation  there,  he  contracted 
the  illness  which  terminated  his  life  by  a  gradual  decay, 
March  9,  1756,  aged  eighty-three.  He  was  buried  in  a 
vault  in  Westminster-abbey,  under  the  consistory  court, 
which  he  had  built  the  year  before,  by  permission  from  the 
Chapter.  His  son  erected  a  monument  for  him  next  to 
that  of  Dr.  Peeree.  He  married  Jane,  the  daughter  of 
John  Milner,  esq.  sometime  bis  Britannic  majesty's  consul 
at  Lisbon,  who  died  in  her  twenty-eighth  year.  By  her 
he  bad  Joseph,  the  more  immediate  subject  of  the  present 
article. 

Mr.  Joseph  Wilcocks  was  born  in  Pean's-yard,  West- 
minster, Jan.  4,  1723,  during  the  time  his  father  was  bi- 
shop of  Gloucester,  and  a  prebendary  of  Westminster.  In 
1736  he  was  admitted  upon  the  foundation  at  Westminster- 
school,  whence  be  was  elected  to  Christ-church,  Oxford 
in  1740,  and  proceeded  regularly  to  the  degree  of  M.  A, 
in  1747.  He  very  early  distinguished  himself  at  college, 
and  obtained  the  second  of  three  prizes  before  the  end  of 
the  year  he  entered,  the  first  of  them  being  gained  by  his 
friend  and  contemporary,  Mr.  Markham,  afterwards  arch* 
bishop  of  York.  As  his  estate  was.  considerable,  he  chose 
no  particular  profession,  but  devoted  his  property*  to  vari- 
ous acts  of  beneficence,  and  his  time  to  study.  He  was 
particularly  attentive  to  biblical  learning,  and  to  every 
thing  that  could  promote  the  cause  of  piety.  His  humility 
and  diffidence  were  carried  rather  to  an  extreme ;  and  from 
the  same  excess  in  the  sensibility  of  his  conscientious  feel- 
irjgs,  he  forebore  to  act  as  a  magistrate,  having  for  a  short 
time  undertaken  it  as  a  justice,  in  the  county  of  Berks. 
Having  in  early  life  paid  his  addresses  to  a  lady  whom  his 


W1LCOCK8. 


49 


ft 

father  deemed  it  imprudent  for .  him  to  marry  in  point  ©f 
circumstances,  he  submitted  to  parental  authority,  but 
continued  unmarried  ever  after. 

His  mode  of  life,  however,  though  exemplary  in  the 
highest  degree,  in  point  of  conduct,  is  not  one  of  those 
that  furnish  many  or  striking  events  ;  and  we  cannot  better 
hold  forth  that  example  to  the  imitation  of  others,  than  in 
the  following  artless  narrative  of  one  of  his  old  servants. 
"  One  of  his  very  amiable  qualities  was  to  consider  him- 
self as  a  citizen  of  the  world,  and  mankind  in  general  as 
his  brethren  and  friends ;  consequently,  he  endeavoured  to 
do  them  all  the  good  in  bis  power.     I  think  I  may  also 
safely  say,  the 'great  rule  of  bis  life  and  conduct  was  to  be 
a  true  disciple  and  follower  of  all  the  beneficent  actions  of 
our  Saviour,  and  to  interweave  bis  examples  into  his  daily 
exercise  and  practice.     He  used  to  rise  early,  and  was  a 
very  great  (Economist  of  his  time;   labouring  to  keep  a 
most  exact  account  of  all  his  domestic  concerns,  and  every 
thing  that  belonged  tp  his  receipts  and  expenditure.    Even 
his  numerous  gifts  and   charities,  I   believe,  were  daily 
committed  to  paper,  and  all  looked  over  in  the  evening, 
and  balanced,  noting  every  error  and  deficiency ;  and  if 
he  did  not  perceive  be  had  done  one  or  more  acts  of  charity 
and  beneficence,  be  thought  he  had  lost  a  day.     He  w*s 
the  most  dutiful  and  affectionate  son,  the  most  kindnepbew, 
cousin,  or  relation  to  all  who  stood  in  any  degree  of  kin- 
dred.    To  servants,  workmen,  and  tenants,  the  most  gentle 
and  beneficent ;  and  to  his  poor  neighbours  an  affectionate  * 
father,  paying  for  schooling  for  their  children,  and  even 
erecting  schools,  which  is,  perhaps,  too  well  known  to  re- 
quire mentioning.     When  travelling,  he  would  inquire  at 
the  inns,  who  was  in  sickness  or  necessity  in  the  place* 
leaving  money   for  their  relief.     He  frequently  released 
debtors  from   prison,  and  had   great  charity  to  beggars. 
He  frequently  sent  medical  assistance  to  the  sick,  and  gave 
large  sums  to  hospitals;  when  abroad,  he  gave  large  sums 
also  to  poor  convents,  and  to  the  necessitous  of  all  coun- 
tries and  religions.     He  was  always  ready  to  assist  every 
increase  or  improvement  of  learning,  witness  the  very  large  * 
and  laborious  share  he  took  in  assisting  the  collation  of  the 
Hebrew  text  of  the  Bible,  by  opening  many  of  the  foreign  . 
Jibraries  in  Europe,  through  his  interest  and  labour,  and 
employing  professors  to  collate  at  his  own  ex  pence.     His 
humanity  to  the  brute  creation  was  very  great,  and  his 
Vol.  XXXII.  E 


W  I  L  C  O  C  K  8. 

tenderness  even  to  insects.  He  preserved  a  reverential  re- 
spect for  the  place  of  his  nativity,  for  the  places  where  he 
had  received  his  education,  and  for  those  who  had  been 
companions  of  his  youth ;  likewise  for  the  memory  of  those 
who  had  been  in  any  way  instrumental  in  forming  bis  mo- 
rals and  perfecting  bis  learning ;  and  this  was  preserved 
even  to  their  friends  and  posterity." 

These,  and  many  other  acts  of  beneficence,  both  of  a 
public  and  private  nature,  the  latter  always  performed 
with  the  utmost  delicacy,  are  specified  at  large  in  the  very 
interesting  memoirs  prefixed  to  the  last  edition  of  bis 
"  Roman  Conversations,"  by  Mr.  Bickerstafi,  the  successor 
of  Mr.  Brown,  the  bookseller,  to  whom  he  bequeathed  that 
edition*  with  an  express  provision,  "  to  indemnify  him 
from  anjr  loss  which  might  be  incurred  by  the  expences  of 
the  first  edition."  His  classical  taste,  contracted  by  long 
reading,  led  him  to  Italy,  and  it  appears  to  have  been  in 
the  once  ". metropolis  of  the  world,"  that  he  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  the  "  Roman  Conversations,"  his  principal  work, 
which  may  justly  be  recommended  to  the  young,  and  in-* 
deed  to  readers  in  general.  In  it  he  separates  the  truth  of 
Roman  history  from  the  errors  which  disfigure  it,  bestow- 
ing just  praise  on  the  real  patriots  of  Rome,  and  equally 
just  censure  on  those  whose  patriotism  was  only  feigned  ; 
and  distinguishing  between  the  insidious  arts  of  dema- 
gogues, and  the  integrity  of  true  friends  to  the  public.  In 
nice  investigations  of  character,  he  appears  to  be  free 
from  prejudice,  attentive  to  truth,  and  often  strikingly 
original  in  his  remarks.  The  chief  defect  is  a  want  of  re- 
gard to  style,  and  a  prolixity  of  remark  and  digression, 
which  perhaps  will  be  more  easily  pardoued  by  the  old 
than  the  young,  for  whom  the  work  was  chiefly  calculated ; 
yet  it  is  a  work  which  cannot  fail  to  be  perused  by  every 
student  of  Roman  history  with  the  greatest  advantage.  It 
is  calculated  to  excite  religious  and  moral  reflections  on 
that  history,  and  to  adapt  and  direct  the  study  of  it  to  the 
best  and  wisest  purposes  of  a  Christian  education. 

In  the  "  Carmina  Quad  ragesira  alia"  are  many  good 
verses  written  by  Mr.  Wilcocks,  who  also  was  the  compiler 
of  the  H  Sacred  Exercises,"  now  in  use  at  Westminster- 
school.  We  are  not  informed  of  any  other  publication 
from  his  pen,  except  a  little  piece  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions,  vol.  liii.  entitled  "  An  Account  of  some  sub- 
terraneous  Apartments,    with    Etruscan   Inscriptions)   and 


W  I  L  C  O  C  K  S.  Si 

paintings,  discovered  at  CivitaTurchino,  in  Italy."  These, 
we  are  told,  were  explored  as  here  described,  at  the  sole 
expence  of  our  author^ 

Mr.  Wilcocks  died,  of  repeated  attacks  of  the  palsy, 
Dec.  23,  1791,  at  the  close  of  his  sixty-ninth  year.  He 
left  behind  him  the  "  Roman  Conversations"  prepared  for 
the  press.  They  were  composed  by  him,  indeed,  at  an 
early  period  of  his  present  majesty's  reign ;  but  modest 
diffidence  would  not  allow  him  to  publish  them  in  his  life* 
time,  otherwise  than  by  printing  off  a  few  copies,  which  he 
distributed  among  his  intimate.,  friends.  With  the  hope,' 
however,  that  the  work  might  be  more  extensively  useful, 
and  particularly  to  younger  minds,  he  gave  directions  that 
it  should  appear  soon  after  his  decease.  Accordingly,  in 
May  1792,  the  first  volume  was  published ;  but,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  written  injunction  left  by  the  worthy  author, 
the  second  volume  did  not  come  out  until  a  year  after: 
In  1797,  a  new  and  much  corrected  edition  was  published 
by  Mr.  Bickerstaff,  with  memoirs  of  the  author,  to  which 
we  are  indebted  for  the  preceding  sketch.  Many  particu- 
lars of  Mr.  Wilcocks's  life  are  evidently,  although  under 
some  disguise,  interwoven  in  his  "  Roman  Conversations."  * 

WILD  (Henry),  a  tailor,  who,  from  an  extraordinary 
love  of  study,  became  a  professor  of  the  Oriental  lan- 
guages, was  born  in  the  city  of  Norwich  about  1684,  where 
he  was  educated  at  a  grammar-school  till  he  was  almost 
qualified  for  the  university ;  but  his  friends,  wanting  for- 
tune and  interest  to  maintain  him  there,  bound  him  ap- 
prentice to  a  tailor,  with  whom  he  served  seven  years,'  add 
afterwards  worked  seven  years  more  as  a  journeyman. 
About  the  end*of  the  last  seven  years,  he  was  seized  with 
a  fever  and  ague,  which  continued  with  him  two  or  three 
years,  and  at  Jast  reduced  him  so  low  as  to  disable  him 
from  working  at  his  trade.  In  this  situation  he  amused 
himself  with  some  old  books  of  controversial  divinity,  in 
which  he  found  great  stress  laid  on  the  Hebrew  original 
of  several  texts  of  scripture;  and,  though'he  had  almost 
lost  the  learning  he  had  obtained  at  school,  his  strong  de- 
sire of  knowledge  excited  him  to  attempt  to  make  himself 
master  of  that  language.  He  was  at  first  obliged  to  make 
use  of  an  English  Hebrew  grammar  and  lexicon;  but,  by 

1  Memoirs  ai  above.— Brit  Crit  vok  II.  for  1793. — Maaniaf  and  Brajr't  J 
HUt  of  Surrey,  vol.  I.  ~. 

i  ... 

£2  .         . 


52  .WILD, 

degrees,  recovered  the  knowledge  of  the  Latin  tongue, 
which  he  had  learned  at  school.  On  the  recovery,  of  his 
health,  he  divided  his  time  between  his  business  and  hit 
studies,  which  last  employed  the  greatest  part  of  bis  nights. 
Thus,  self-taught,  and  assisted  only  by  his  great  genius, 
he,  by  dint  of  continual  application,  added  to  the  know* 
ledge  of  the  Hebrew  that  of  all  or  most  of  the  oriental  lan- 
guages, but  still  laboured  in  obscurity,  till  at  length  he 
was  accidentally  discovered.  The  worthy  Dr.  Prideanx, 
dean  of  Norwich,  being  offered  some  Arabic  manuscripts 
in  parchment,  by  a  bookseller  of  that  city,  thinking,  per- 
haps, that  the  price  demanded  for  them  was  too  great, 
declined  buying  them ;  but,  soon  after,  Mr.  Wild  bearing 
of  them,  purchased  them ;  and  the  dean,  on  calling  at  the 
shop  and  inquiring  for  the  manuscripts,  was  informed  of 
their  being  sold.  Chagrined  at  this  disappointment,  he 
asked  of  the  bookseller  the  name  and  profession  of  the  per- 
son who  had  bought  them  ;  and,  being  told  he  was  a  tailor, 
he  bad  him  instantly  to  run  and  fetch  them,  if  they  were 
not  cut  in  pieces  to  make  measures  :  but  he  was  soon  re- 
lieved from  his  fears  by  Mr.  Wild's  appearance  with  the 
manuscripts,  though,  on  the  dean's  inquiring  whether  he 
would  part  with  them,  he  answered  in  the  negative.  The 
dean  then  asked  hastily  what  he  did  with  them:  he  replied, 
that  he  read  them.  He  was  desired  to  read  them,  which 
he  did.  He  was  then  bid  to  render  a  passage  or  two  into 
English,  which  he  readily  performed,  and  with  great  ex- 
-  actness.  Amazed  at  this,  the  dean,  partly  at  his  own  ex- 
pence,  and  partly  by  a  subscription  raised  among  persona 
whose  inclinations  led  them  to  this  kind  of  knowledge,  sent 
him  to  Oxford  ;  where,  though  he  was  never  a  member. of 
the  university,  be  was  by  the  dean's  interest  admitted  into 
the  Bodleian  library,  and  employed  for  soma  years  in 
translating  or  making  extracts  out  of  Oriental  manu- 
scripts, and  thus  bad  adieu  to  bis  needle.  This  appears 
to  bare  been  some  time  before  1718.  At  Oxford,  he,  was 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Arabian  tailor.  He  constantly 
attended  the  library  all  the  hours  it  was  open,  and,,  wbeti 
it  was  shut,  employed  most  of  his  leisure-time  hi  teaching 
the  Oriental  languages  to  young  gentlemen,  at  the  mo-, 
derate  price  of  half  a  guinea  a  lesson,  except  for  the  Ara- 
bic, for  which  he  bad  a  guinea,  and  his  subscriptions  for 
teaching  amounted  to  no  more  than  20  or  30/.  a  year.  Un- 
happily for  him,  the  branch  of  learning  in  which  he  ex- 


WILB.  sa 

celled  was  cultivated  bat  by  few;  and  the  reverend  jdr. 
Gagnier,  a  Frenchman,  skilled  in  the  Oriental  tongues, 
was  in  possession  of  all  the  favours  the  university  could  be* 
stew  in  this  way,  being  recommended  by  the  heads  of  col- 
leges to  instruct  young  gentlemen,  and  employed  by  the 
professors  of  those  languages  to  read  public  lectures  in 
their  absence. 

Mr.  Wild's  person  was  thin  and  meagre,  and  his  stature 
moderately  tall.  He  had  an  extraordinary  memory ;  and, 
as  his  pupils  frequently  invited  him  Co  spend  an  evening 
with  them,  be  would  often  entertain  them  with  long  and 
curious  details  out  of  the  Roman,  Greek,  and  Arabic,  his* 
tories.  His  morals  were  good ;  he  was  addicted  to  no  vice, 
but  was  sober,  temperate,  modest,  and  diffident  of  himself, 
without  the  least  tincture  of  vanity.  About  1720  he  re* 
moved  to  London,  where  he  spent  th#  remainder  of  his  life 
under  the  patronage  of  Dr.  Mead.  When  he  died  is  not  //Z/^fj 
known,  but  in  1734,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been 
after  bis  death,  was  published  his  translation  from  the  Ara- 
bic of  "  Mahomet's  Journey  to  Heaven,"  which  is  the  only 
piece  of  bis  that  was  ever  printed.  The  writer  of  his  life 
informs  us  that  it  was  once  suspected  that  be  was  a  Jesuit 
in  disguise,  but  for  this  there  appears  to  have  been  no 
foundation.  Before  be  went  to  Oxford,  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing notice  respecting  him-  in  a  letter  from  Dr.  Turner 
to  Dr.  Charlett,  dated  Norwich,  March  4,  J  7 1 4.  '*  A  tay- 
lor  of  this  town,  of  about  thirty  years  of  age,  has  within 
seven  years,  mastered  seven  languages,  Latin,  Greek, 
Hebrew,  Chaldaic,  Syriac,  Arabic,  and  Persic.  Mr.  Pro- 
fessor Ockley  being  here  since  Christmas  has  examined 
him,  and  given  him  an  ample  testimonial  in  writing  of  his  » 
skill  in  the  Oriental  languages.  Our  dean  also  thinks  him 
very  extraordinary.  But  he  is  very  poor,  and  his  landlord 
lately  seized  a  Polyglot  Bible  (which  he  had  made  shift  to 
purchase)  for  rent.  But  there  is  care  taken  to  clear  his 
debts,  and  if  a  way  could  be  thought  of  to  make  him  more 
useful,  I  believe  we  could  get  a  subscription  towards  part 
of  his  maintenance."  This  we  find  by  the  above  narrative 
was  accordingly  done.1 

WILD  (Robert),  a  nonconformist  divine,  poet,  and 
wit,  was  born  at  St.  Ives  in  Huntingdonshire  in  1609,  and 
was  educated  at  the. university  of  Cambridge.     In  1642  he 

*  XJenU  Mag.  vol,  XXV.—"  Letters  by  Eminent  Persons, "  3  vols.  8yo*  1811. 


S4  WILD.         t 

yify  created  bachelor  of  divinity  at  Oxford,  and,  probably 
.had  the  degree  of  doctor  there  also,  as  he  was  generally 
called   Dr.  Wild.     In    1646   he   was   appointed   rector  of 
Aynho  in  Northamptonshire,  in  the  room  of  Or.  Longman, 
ejected  by  the  parliamentary  visitors  ;  and  on  this  occa- 
sion Calamy's  editor  gives  us  one  of  his  witticisms.     He 
and  another  divine  had  preached  for  the  living,  and  Wild 
-being  asked  whether  he  or  hi*  competitor  had  got  it,  he 
answered  "  We  have  divided  it ;  I  have  got  the  AY,  and 
lie  the  NO."     Wood  says  he  was.  "  a  fat,  jolly,  and  boon 
presbyterian,"  but  Calamy  asserts  that  those  who  knew 
him  commended  him  not  only  for  his  facetiousness,  but 
.also  his  strict  temperance  and  sobriety ;  and  he  was  serious, 
where  seriousness   was  wanted.       He   was    ejected   from 
Aynho  at  the  restoration.     He  died  at  Oundle,  in  North* 
amptonshire  in  1679,  aged  seventy.     His  works  afford  a 
curious  mixture.     1.  "The  tragedy  of  Christopher  Love 
at  Tower-hill,19  Lond.    1660,  a  poem  in  one  sheet  4to. 
2.  "Jter  Boreale,  attempting  something  upon  the  success- 
ful  and   matchless   march   of  the  L  Gen.  George  Monk 
from  Scotland  to  London,"  ibid.  1660,  4to,  in  ridicule  of 
the  republican  party.     This  was  at  that  time  a  favourite 
subject,  and  Wood  mentions  three  other  Iter  Boreale' s  by 
Eades,  Corbet,  and  Master.     3.  €t  A  poem  on  the  impri- 
sonment  of  Mr.   Edmund    Calamy  in    Newgate,"    1662, 
printed  on  a  broad  sheet,  which  produced  two  similar  broad- 
sheets in  answer,  the  one  "  Antiboreale,  an  answer  to  a 
jewd   piece  of  poetry   upon  Mr.  Calamy,  &c."  the  other 
"  Hudibras  on  Calamy's  imprisonment  and  Wild's  poetry .'• 
These,  with  his  Iter  Boreale,  and  other  pieces  of  a  similar 
♦   cast   and    very   indifferent    poetry,    but    with    occasional 
flashes  of  genuine  humour,  were   published   together  in 
1668  and  1670.     Wood    mentions  "The  Benefice,  a  co- 
medy," written  in  his  younger  years,  but  not  printed  till 
1689.     Wood  adds,  that  there  "  had  like  to  have  been'*  a 
poetical  war  between  Wild  and  Flax  man,  but  how  it  ter- 
minated he  knows  not.     Wild  had  the  misfortune  to  have 
some  of  his  poems  printed  along  with  some  of  lord  Roches- 
ter's.    He  has  a  few  sermons  extant.1 
'    WILDBORE  (Charles),  an  ingenious  mathematician, 
was  born  in  Nottinghamshire,  and  educated  at  the  Blue 

1  Ath.  Oi.  vol.  II.— Calamy  by  Palmer. — Keiiitula,  vol.  L  where  it  an  ax* 
tract  Iron  bit  "  Iter  Boreale." 


W  I  L  D  B  O  R  E.  35 

Coat  school  of  Nottingham.  Of  his  early  history  we  have 
little  information*  but  it  appears  tbat  he  kept  an  academy 
at  Bingham,  in  the  above  county,  for  some  years,  and 
afterwards  was  preferred  to  the  living  of  Sulney,  where  he 
died  at  an  advanced  age,  Oct.  30, 1802.  In  his  latter  days 
be  had  a  remarkably  strong  and  retentive  memory,  as  a 
proof  of  which,  he  told  a  friend  that  he  made  a  common 
practice  of  solving  the  most  abstruse  questions  in  the  ma- 
thematics without  ever  committing  a  single  6gure,  &c.  to 
paper  till  finished ;  and,  upon  its  being  observed  "  bow 
much  pen  and  paper  might  assist  him  I"  he  replied,  "  I 
have  to  thank  God  for  a  most  retentive  memory ;  and  so 
long  as  it  is  enabled  to  exercise  its  functions,  it  shall  not 
have  any  assistance  from  art."  When  his  mind  was  occu- 
pied *  in  close  study,  he  always  walked  to  and  fro  in  an 
obscure  part  of  his  garden,  where  be  could  neither  see  nor 
be  seen  of  any  one,  and  frequently  paced,  in  this  manner, 
several  miles  in  a  day. 

Though  so  skilful  in  mathematics,  he  did  not  favour  the 
world  with  any  separate  publication  bearing  his  own  name, 
and  often  used  the  signature  of  Eumenes ;  but  he  poured 
much  light  upon  the  regions  of  science  through  the  medium 
of  those  periodical  publications  which  are  chiefly  devoted 
to  mathematical  researches.     He  contributed  a  number  of 
valuable  articles  to  Martin' 9  "  Miscellaneous  Correspond- 
ence," between  the  years  1755  and  1763,  particularly  ah 
excellent  paper,  in  which  be  made  it  his  business  to  prove 
that  the  moon's  orbit  was  always  concave,  with  respect  to 
the  sun.     He  began  his  contributions  to  the  "  Gentleman's 
Diary"  in  1759,  when  that  performance  was  conducted  by 
Mr.  T.  Peat.     In  the  same  year  be  commenced  his  com- 
.murjications  to  the  '*  Ladies'  Diary,"  which  was  edited  by. 
professor  Simpson,  of  Woolwich.     In  1773  and  1774  be 
carried  op  a  spirited  but  amicable  controversy,  in  Dr.  Hut- 
ton's  "  Miscellanea  Mathematica,"  with  Mr.  John  Dawson, 
of  Sedbergb,  a  gentleman  well  knpwn  at  Cambridge,  and 
the  tutor  of  many  pupils  who  have  been  senior- wranglers 
of  that   university.     The  subject  of  this  controversy  was 
"the  velocity  of  w&ter  issuing  from  a  vessel  when  put  in 
motion."     In  1780  his  friend  Dr.  Hutton  procured  for  him 
the  editorship  of  the  "  Gentleman's  Diary,"  an   honqiir 
which  he  had  long  wished  to  attain,  and  he  was  highly  gra- 
tified by  the  circumstance.     From  that  period  his  valuable 
communications  to  this  publication  always  appeared  under 


56  WILDBORE. 

the  character  of  Eumeues,  and  chose  in  the  Ladies9  Diary 
under  that  of  Amicus.  The  prize-question  in  the  Diary 
for  1803  is  by  Mr.  Wildbore,  and  is  a  very  curious  and  in- 
tricate question  in  the  diophantine  algebra. 

.At  an  early  period  of  life  he  was  a  reviewer  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Transactions,  in  which  trust,  as  well  as  several 
others  committed  to  his  care  and  inspection,  he  so  well  ac- 
quitted himself,  that  he  was  solicited  to  become  a  member  of 
the  royal  society ;  bat  this  honour  he  very  modestly  de- 
clined, in  a  letter  to  the  then  president,  remarking,  amongst 
other  things,  "  that  his  ambition  had  never  led  him  to  visit 
the  metropolis ;  and  if  he  accepted  the  honour  of  being 
one  of  that  learned  society,  he  should  wish,  not  to  be  a 
passive,  but  an  active  member ;  to  be  which  he  supposed 
that  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  come  forward  m  the 
world,  which  he  had  not  the  least  inclination  to  do,  pre- 
ferring bis  village  retirement,  infinitely  beyond  the4  busy 
hum  of  men,9  and  to  be  styled  '  the  bumble  village  pas- 
tor,9 without  the  addition  of  the  initials  F.  R.  S."  He  was 
intimately  acquainted,  by  correspondence,  with  many  learn- 
ed men  (for  he  scarcely  ever  saw  any  of  them),  particularly 
with  Dr.  Hutton,  for  whom  he  entertained  a  very  high 
esteem. ' 

WILDE,  or  WYLD  (John),  a  lawyer,  and  a  very  pro- 
minent character  during  the  usurpation,  was  the  eldest  son 
of  a  lawyer,  as  bis  father  is  said  to  have  been  serjeant  George 
Wilde  of  Droitwich,  in  Worcestershire.  He  was  of  Baliol 
college,  Oxford,  and  in  1610,  when  he  took  his  degree  of 
M,  A.  was  a  student  in  the  Inner  Temple.  .  Of  this  society 
he  became  Lent  reader  6  Car.  I.  afterwards  a  serjeant  at 
law,  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  great  seal  in  1643, 
and  in  Oct.  1648,  chief  baron  of  the  exchequer,  and  one 
of  the  council  of  state.  In  1641  he  drew  up  the  impeach- 
ment against  the  bishops,  and  presented  it  to  the  House 
of  Lords,  and  was  prime  manager  not  only  in  that,  but  on 
the  trial  of  archbishop  Laud.  "He  was  the  same  aho," 
says  Wood,  "  who,  upon  the  command,  or  rather  desire, 
of  the  great  men  sitting  at  Westminster,  did  condemn  to 
death  at  Winchester  one  captain  John  Burley,  for  causing 
a  drum  to  be  beat  up  for  God  and  king  Charles,  at  New-* 
port,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  order  to  rescue  his  captive 

i  Gent.  Mag.  toI.  LXXI1, 


WILDE.  57 

king  in  1647."  Wood  adds,  that  after  the  execution  of 
Burley,  Wilde  was  rewarded  with  1000/.  out  of  the  privy 
purse  at  Derby-house,  and  had  the  same  sum  for  saving 
the  life  of  major  Edmund  Rolph,  who  had  a  design  to  have 
murdered  the  king.  When  Oliver  became  protector  "  he 
retired  and  acted  not/'  but  after  Richard  Cromwell  had 
been  deposed  he  was  restored  to  the  exchequer.  On  the 
restoration  he  was  of  course  obliged  to  resign  again,  and 
lived  in  retirement  at  Hampstead,  where  he  died  about 
1669,  and  was  buried  at  Wherwill,  in  Hampshire,  the 
seat  of  Charles  lord  Delawar,  who  had  married  his  daughter. 
Wilde  married  Anne,  daughter  of  sir  Thomas  Harry,  of 
Tonge  castle,  serjeant  at  law  and  baronet,  who  died  in 
1624,:  aged  only  sixteen,  "  being  newly  delivered  of  her 
first  born."  She  lies  buried  in  Tonge  church,  in  Staf- 
fordshire. 

Such  are  the  particulars  Wood  has  given  of  this  lawyer, 
and  they  are  in  general  supported  by  Clarendon  and  other 
contemporary  authorities,  and  attempted  to  be  contra- 
dicted only  byOldmixon  and  Neal.  Oldmixon's  evidence 
will  not  be  thought  to  weigh  much  against  Clarendon's. 
Neal  calls  him  "  A  great  lawyer,  and  of  unblemished  mo-, 
rals ;  and  after  the  restoration  of  king  Charles  II.  was  made 
lord  chief  baron,  and  esteemed  a  grave  and  venerable 
judge."  But  it  is  grossly  improbable  that  such  a  man 
should  have  been  thus  promoted,  and  it  is  besides  ex- 
pressly contrary  to  fact,  for  sir  Orlando  Bridge  man  was 
chief  baron  at  the  trial  of  the  regicides,  and  was  succeeded 
by  judge  Hale.  It  was  the  rump  parliament  only  who  be- 
stowed the  honour  on  Wilde. 

Neal,  perhaps,  we  know  others  have,  confounded  his 
favourite  hero,  serjeant  Wilde,  which  was  his  only  legiti- 
mate title,  with  sir  William  Wild,  who  was  recorder  of 
London  in  1659,  created  a  baronet  Sept.  13,  1660,  ap- 
pointed king' 8  serjeant  Nov.  10,  1661,  and  made  one  of 
the  justices  of  the  common  pleas  in  1668.  He  was  ad- 
vanced to  be  a  justice  of  the  court  of  king's  bench  Jan.  21, 
1672.  In  1661  and  1674  he  published  "  Yelverton's  Re- 
ports," in  French.  He  died  Nov.  23,  1679,  leaving  issue 
sir  Felix  Wilde,  of  fit.  Clement  Danes,  in  Middlesex,  ban. 
The  title  is  now  extinct.  Sir  William  Wilde  was  indeed 
"a  grave  and  venerable  judge,"  and  it  must  not  be  forgot 
to  his  honour,  that,  because  he  disbelieved  the  evidence 


58  WILKES. 

of  the  perjured  Bedloe,  in  the  popish  plot,  he  was  de- 
prived of  his  office  a  few  months  before  his  death. ' 

WILKES  (John),  a  very  singular  political  character  in 
the  earl)  part  of  the  presept  reign,  was  born  Oct.  17, 1727, 
O.  s.  in  St.  John's  street,  Clerkenwell,  where  his  father, 
Nathaniel,  carried  on  in  a  very  extensive  way  the  trade 
of  a  distiller,  and  lived  in  the  true  style  of  ancient  English 
hospitality,  to  which  both  he  and  his  lady  were  always  par* 
ticularly  attentive.  Their  house  was  consequently  much 
frequented,  particularly  by  many  characters  of  distin- 
guished rank  in  the  commercial  and  literary  world-  It  was 
in  such  society  that  their  son  John  imbibed  that  taste  for 
letters  which  he  continued  to  cultivate  through  life.  His 
education,  therefore,  though  liberal,  was  domestic ;  and, 
though  not  severe,  yet  sufficiently  sober.  .  His  philosophy 
(that  of  enjoying  the  world,  and  passing  laughingly  through 
it)  was  all  his  own,  and  adopted  in  compliance  with  his 
view  of  human  nature.  And  this  he  was  himself  very  will- 
ing to  have  believed.  His  parents  (one  of  them  at  least) 
were  not  of  the  church  of  England  ;  and  Mr.  Wilkes  hav- 
ing passed  his  school  years  partly  at  Hertford,  and  partly 
in  Buckinghamshire,  was  sent,  not  to  either  of  our  English 
universities,  but  with  a  private  tutor,  to  the  university  of 
Leyden,  where  his  talents  attracted  much  notice. 

In  1749  he  married  Miss  Mead,  heiress  of  the  Meads 
of  Buckinghamshire,  from  which  marriage  probably  ori- 
ginated his  connection  with  that  county.  This  lady  was 
about  ten  years  older  than  himself,  that  is,  about  thirty- 
two.  Their  dispositions,  we  are  told,  were  perfectly  dis- 
similar, yet  he  treated  her  for  a  time  with  decent  respect* 
Afterwards  he  became  quite  alienated  from  her,  and  a  final 
separation  took  place  in  17  57. '  So  depraved  were  his  mo- 
rals, and  so  destitute  was  he  of  a  sense  of  honour,  that 
amidst  the   distresses'  which   his  loose  pleasures  brought 

x  upon  him,  he  endeavoured  to  defraud  this  lady  of  the  an- 
nuity stipulated  in,  the  articles  of  separation  ;  but  this  was 
prevented  by  a  law-suit.  In  April  1754,  be  offered  him- 
self as  a  candidate  tp  represent  in  parliament  the  borough 

of  Berwick,  and  addressed  the  electors  in  terms  hot  ill 
according  with  that  political  spirit  which  afterwards  marked 
his  public  conduct.     He  was  not,  however,  successful,  but 

*  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  t.— Gent.  Mag.  vol*.  LH.  LIH.  and  UV,— Neal's  Puritans, 
and  Giey't  Examination,  vol.  III. — Heylyn'a  Ex  amen  Histortcum. — Clarendon. ' 
-—Burnet'!  Own  Times* 


W.ILK  E  S.  59 

in  July  1757,  was  elected  burgess  for  Aylesbury,  and  was 
again  chosen  at  the  general  election  in  1761  for  the  same 
place.  Before  this  period  he  had  formed  connections  with 
?arious  men  of  rank,  but  not  of  the  purest  character  for 
morals,  who  seem  to  have  admitted  him  into  their  society 
as  a  companion  who  was  not  likely  to4ay  them  under  any 
restraint.  He  had,  however,  formed  some  connections  of 
a  better  stamp.  It  appears  that,  as  early  as  1754  be  was 
known  to  lord  Temple,  and  to  Mr.  Pitt,  afterwards  l6rd 
Chatham.  ♦ 

In  1762  he  began  to  engage  in  political  discussion.  In 
March  of  that  year  he  published  "  Observations  on  the 
papers  relative  to  the  rupture  with  Spain,  laid  before  both 
bouses  of  parliament  on  Friday,  Jan.  29,  1762."  As  much 
of  bis  information  on  this  subject  was  supplied  by  lord 
Temple  (who,  with  Mr.  Pitt,  had  retired  from  the  cabinet 
ia  consequence  of  a  negative  being  put  upon  their  propo- 
sition for  an  immediate  war  with  Spain)  the  success  of  this 
pamphlet  is  little  to  be  wondered  at;  ,  As  he  did  not  put 
his  name  to  it,  it  was  ascribed  to  Dr.  Douglas,  or  Mr.  Mau- 
duit,  by  the  sly  suggestions  of  the  real  author.  In  the 
beginning  of  June  following  he  commenced  his  celebrated 
paper  called  "  The  North  Briton."  /The  purpose  of  this 
was  ostensibly  to  expose  the  errors  of*  the  then  ministry, 
and  hold  them  up  to  public  contempt,  but  really,  to  give 
the  author  that  sort  of  consequence: that: might  lead  to  ad- 
vantages which  his  extravagant  mode  of  living  had  by  this 
time  rendered  necessary.  We  have  his  own  word  that  he 
had  determined  to  take  advantage  of  the  times  and  to  make 
his  fortune,  and  that  he  soon  formed  an  idea  of  what  would 
silence  and  satisfy  him.  "  If  government,"  says  he,  "  means 
jpeace  or  friendship  with  me,  I  then  breathe  no  longer  hos- 
tility. And,  between  ourselves,  if  they  would  send  me 
ambassador  to  Constantinople,  it  is  all  T  should  wish." — 
Again,  "  It  depends  on  them  (the  ministry)  whether  Mr. 
Wilkes  is  their  friend  or  their  enemy.  If  he  starts  as  the 
latter,  he  will  lash  them  with  scorpions,  and  they  are  al- 
ready prepared  ;  I  wish,  however,  we  may  be  friends  ;  and 
I  had.  rather  follow  the  plan  I  had  marked  out  in  my  letter 
frpm  Geneva,"  alluding  to  the  embassy  to  Constantinople. 
In  a  subsequent  letter  he  says,  "  If  the  ministers  do  not 
find  employment  for  me,  I  am  disposed  to  find  employ- 
ment for  them."  In  these  extracts  we  have  anticipated  the 
order  of  tiinf,  for  they  were  written  in  1764,  when  he  was 


60  WILKES. 

an  exile,  but  they  are  necessarily  introduced  here  io  unfold 
the  real  character  of  Mr.  Wilkes,  and  to  determine  to  what 
species  of  patriots  he  belonged.  We  see  at  the  same  time 
here  how  very  near  the  most  popular  character  of  the  age 
was  to  dropping  into  comparative  obscurity,  and  at  what  a 
cheap  rate  the  ministry  might  hate  averted  the  hostility  of 
Wilkes,  and  all  its  consequences,  which  we  have  always 
considered  as  rqore  hurtful  than  beneficial  to  his  country. 

In  the  mean  time  be  went  on  publishing  bis  "  North 
Britons,9'  which,  although  written  in  an  acute  and  popular 
style,  and  unquestionably  very  galling  to  ministers,  had 
not  produced  any  great  commotion,  nor  seemed  likely  to 
answer  the  author's  purpose.  Ministerial  writers  were  em- 
ployed to  write  against  him,  and  in  this  way  a  literary  war- 
fare might  have  gone  on  for  years,  without  any  of  the  con- 
sequences he  expected.  One  duel,  indeed,  he  had  with 
lord  Talbot,  but  neither  party  was  hurt,  and  Wilkes  was 
not  benefited.  At  length,  therefore,  he  began  to  think  he 
had  been  too  tame,  or  that  ministers  were  become  too  caU 
lous,  and  with  a  view  *to  a  provocation,  which  could  not 
fail  to  irritate,  he  made  a  rude  attack  on  his  majesty  in  No. 
45  of  the  "  North  Briton,9'  which  appeared  on  the  23d  of 
April  1763,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  Mr.  Wilkes  was 
served  by  a  king's  messenger  with  a  general  warrant,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  on  the  same  morning  con- 
veyed to  the  Tower.  That  "  a  warrant  to  apprehend  and 
seize,  together  with  their  papers,  the  authors,  printers, 
and  publishers  of  a  work,"  without  naming  who  those  au- 
thors, printers,  and  publishers  were  even  suspected  to  be, 
has  an  appearance  of  illegality,  cannot  be  denied.  But  in 
justice  to  the  secretaries  of  state  who  signed  it,  it  should 
be  remembered,  that  for  a  hundred  years  the  practice  of 
their  office  had  been  to  issue  such  ;  and  that  in  so  doing 
tbey  did  no  more  than  what  precedents  seemed  to  justify. 
That  they  did  not,  however,  in  this  case,  act  wisely  the 
event  shewed.  Upon  his  commitment  to  the  Tower,  an 
application  was  instantly  made  to  the  court  of  common 
pleas  for  his  habeas  corpus,  and  he  was  brought  up  on  the 
3d  of  May.  %  On  the  4th  he  was  dismissed  from  his  situa- 
tion as  colonel  of  the  Buckinghamshire  militia.  On  the 
6th  the  validity  of  his  warrant  of  commitment  was  argued, 
his  plea -of  privilege  was  allowed,  and  he  was  in  consequence 
discharged.  He  immediately  erected  a  printing-press  in 
bis  house  in  George-street,  published  a  narrative  of  the 


WILKES.  61 

transactions  in  which  he  had  been  engaged,  and  renewed 
the  publication  of  the  "  North  Briton/'  'He  visited  Paris 
a  few  months  after,  and  was  there  challenged,  ip  the  month 
of  August,  by  a  captain  Forbes,  who,  standing  forth  as 
the  champion  of  Scotland,  asked  satisfaction  of  him,  as  the 
editor  and  conductor  of  the  "  Nortb  Briton/'  for  the  ca- 
lumnies heaped  upon  his  native  country.  Mr.  Wilkes  be- 
haved on  this  occasion  with  much  moderation,  and  declared 
himself  no  prize-fighter.  Being  again  urged,  however, 
though  in  terms  of  politeness,  he  half  complied,  but  being 
in  the  mean  while  put  under  an  arrest,  he  pledged  his  ho-, 
nour  not  to  fight  on  French  ground.  When  set  at  liberty 
he  proceeded  to  Menin,  and  there  awaited  bis  challenger, 
but  no  meeting  took  place; 

The  winter  now  advancing,  Mr.  Wilkes  returned  to 
England,  previous  to  the  opening  of  parliament,  and  re- 
sumed his  labours  in  the  "  North  Briton,"  which  soon  after 
involved  bim  in  another  duel  with  Mr.  Martin,  member  for 
Camelford,  and  late  secretary  Ml  the  treasury.  In  this 
Wilkes  received  a  dangerous  wound  in  the  groin  ;  but  ap- 
peared in. parliament  on  the  first  day  of  the  session,  and 
bad  risen  to  address  the  chair  of  the  speaker  on  the  subject 
of  bis  privilege,  as  a  member  of  that  bouse,  having  been 
violated.  It  bad  usually  been  considered  aa  the  established 
custom  of  parliament  to  enter  upon  the  discussion  of 
breaches  of  privileges  before  alt  other  matters.  In  this  in- 
stance the  custom  was  overruled,  and  a  message  from  the 
sovereign  was  conveyed  to  the  commons,  informing  them, 
that  J.  Wilkes,  esq.  was  the  author  of  a  most  seditious  and 
dangerous  paper,  and  acquainting  them  with  the  measures 
which  had  been  resorted  to  by  the  servants  of  the  crown. 
The  house,  the  proofs  of  the  libel  being  entered  upon,  pro- 
ceeded to  vote,  that  No.  45  of  the  "  North  Britain"  was, 
as  it  had  been  represented  to  be,  a  false,  scandalous,  and 
malieious  libel,  &c.  and  it  was  ordered  to  be  burnt  by  the 
common  hangman.  A  day  having  been  appointed  for  the 
hearing  of  Mr.  Wilkes's  defence  against  the  charge  of 
being  the.  author  of  the  libel,  be  thought  it  proper  to  ac- 
quaint the  house  of  the  incapacity  occasioned  by  his 
wound,  and  further  time  Was  in  consequence'  allowed  him. 
The  bouse,  however,  suspecting  some  unnecessary  delay, 
appointed  Dr.  Heberden  and  Mr.  Hawkins  to  attend  him, 
in  addition  to  his  own  physician  and  surgeon  ;  and  further, 
ordered  them  to  report  the  state  of  his  health.    Mr.  Wilkes 


W  WILKES. 

politely  rejected  the  offer  of  their  visit.  The  house,  hi 
said,  bad  desired!  them  to  visit  him,  but  had  forgotten  to 
desire  him  to  receive  them,  which  he  most  certainly  should 
not.  At  the  same  time,  in  vindication  of  the  professional 
gentlemen  whom  he  himself  had  employed,  he  sent  for 
Dr.  Duncan,  one  of  his  majesty's  physicians  in  ordinary, 
and  Mr.  Myddleton,  one  of  bis  majesty's  serjeaut-surgeons, 
humorously  telling  them,  that  as  the  House  of  Common* 
thought  it  fit  that  he  should  be  watched,  he  himself  thought 
two  Scotchmen  most  proper  for  his  spies.  About  a  week 
after  he  suddenly  withdrew  to  France ;  a  retreat  which 
prudence  rendered  very  necessary,  his  circumstances  being 
very  much  involved. 

From  Paris,  where  he  sought  ad  asylum,  he  certified  to 
the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  by  the  signatures 
of  the  physician  of  the  king  of  France,  and  other  gentle- 
men, his  confinement  to  his  room,  and  the  impossibility, 
from  his  state  of  health,  of  his  venturing  to  undertake  the 
journey  back  to  England.  •  In  the  mean  time,  although  the 
House  of  Commons  had  neglected  his  complaint  of  pri- 
vilege, be  derived  bis  first  considerable  triumph  from  the 
verdict  found  for  him  in' the  court  of  common  pleas.     He 
had  early  brought  bis  action   against  Robert  Wood,  esq.' 
the  under  secretary  of  state,  for  the  seizure  of  his  papers/ 
as  the  supposed  author  of  the  "  North  Briton."     It  was 
tried  before  a  special  jury  dn  the  6th  of  December,  and 
lOOOl.  damages  were  given.     The  charge  to  the  jury,  de- 
livered by  lord  chief  justice  Pratt,  concluded  thus  :    "This 
warrant  is  unconstitutional,  illegal,  and   absolutely  void  ; 
it  is  a  general  warrant,  directed  to  four   messengers,  to 
take  up  any  persons,  without  naming  or  describing  there- 
with any  certainty,  and  to  apprehend  them  together  with- 
their  papers.     If  it  be  good,  a  secretary  of  state  can  dele* 
gate  and  depute  any  of  the  messengers,  or  any  even  from 
the  lowest  of  the  people,  to  take  examinations,  to  commit, 
or  to  release,  and  do  every  act  which  the  highest  judicial 
officers  the  law  knows,  can  do  or  order.     There  is  no  or- 
der in  our  law-books  that  mentions  these  kinds  of  warrants, 
but  several  that  in  express  words  condemn  them.     Upon 
tbe-maturest  consideration,  I   am   bold  to    say,  that  this 
warrant  is  illegal ;  but  I  am  far  from  wishing  a  matter  of 
this  consequence  to  rest  solely  on  my  opinion ;  I  am  only 
one  of  twelve,  whose  opinions  I  am  desirous  should  be 
taken  in  this  matter,  and  I  am  very  willing  to  allow  myself  - 


WILKES.  43 

tb  be  theAmeanest  of  the  twelve.  There  is  also  a  still 
higher  court,  before  which  this  matter  may  be  canvassed, 
and  whose  determination  is  final ;  and  here  I  cannot  help 
observing  the  happiness  of  our  constitution  in  admitting 
these  appeals,  in  consequence  of  which,  material  points 
are  determined  on  the  most  mature  consideration,  and  with 
the  greatest  solemnity.  To  this  admirable  delay  of  the 
law  (for  in  this  case  the  law's  delay  may  be  st>ied  ad- 
mirable) I  believe  it  is  chiefly  owing  that  we  possess  the 
best  digested,  and  most  excellent  body  of  law  which  any 
nation  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  whether  ancient  or  modern, 
could  ever  boast.  If  these  higher  jurisdictions  should  de- 
clare my  op;nion  erroneous,  I  submit,  as  will  become  me, 
and  kiss  the  rod  ;  but  I  must  say,  1  shall  always  consider 
it  as  a  rod  of  iron  for  the  chastisement  of  the  people  of 
Great  Britain." 

•  We  have  already  mentioned  in  our  account  of  lord  Cam- 
den bow  very  popular  this  decisiou  made  him  throughout 
the  kingdom,  and  the  same  enthusiasm  made  it  be  consi- 
dered as  a  complete  triumph  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Wilkes, 
who,  however,  perhaps,  thought  differently  of  it,  conscious 
that  he  had  other  battles  to  fight  in  which  he  might  not  be 
so  ably  supported.  On  Jan.  10,  1764,  he  was  expelled 
from  the  House  of  Commons ;  and  on  Feb.  2 1  was  con- 
victed in  the  court  of  King's  Bench  for  re-publishing  the 
"  North  Briton,  No.  45,"  and  also  upon  a  second  indict- 
ment, for  printing  and  publishing  an  "  Essay  on  Woman/1 
This  was  an  obscene  poem  which  he  printed  at  his  private 
press,  but  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  published  it,  as  be 
printed  only  a  very  small  number  of  copies  (about  twelve) 
to  give  away  to  certain  friends.  The  great  offence  was 
(and  this  was  complained  of  in  the  House  of  Lords),  that 
he  had  annexed  the  name  of  bishop  Warburton  to  this  infa- 
mous poem,  and  it  was  hoped,  by  the  ministry,  that  hold- 
ing Mr.  Wilkes  forth  as  a  profligate,  might  cure  the  public 
of  that  dangerous  and  overpowering  popularity  they  were 
about  to  honour  him  with.  But  this  was  another  of  their 
erroneous  calculations.  The  populace  at  this  time,  at  least . 
the  populace  of  London,  were  more  anxious  about  general 
warrants,  which  might  affect  one  in  ten  thousand,  than' 
about  morals,  which  are  the  concern  of  all ;  and. even  some 
of  the  better  sort  could  see  no  immediate  connection  be* : 
tween  Wilkes's  moral  and  political  offences. 
Ja  the  mean  time  being  found  guilty  on  both  in  forma- 


64  WILKES. 

tions,  and  neglecting  to  make  any  personal  appearance, 
when  called  upon  to  receive  the  judgment  of  the  court  of 
King's  Bench,  he  was,  towards  the  close  of  the  year,  out- 
lawed. He  had  again  repaired  to  France,  whence  he  ad- 
dressed a  letter,  in  defence  of  his  conduct,  to  the  electors 
of  Aylesbury,  which,  like  all  his  publications,  was  read 
with  much  avidity.  It  was  in  this  year  (1764),  and  when 
at  Paris,  that  he  addressed  those  letters  to  his  friends,  of 
which  we  have  already  given  extracts,  to  prove  J:bat,  what- 
ever his  popularity,  be  bad  no  very  high  expectations  from 
it,  .and  had  sense  enough  to  perceive  that  his  deranged 
circumstances  could  be  restored  only  by  making  peace 
with  administration.  His  terms,  we  have  seen,  were  not 
exorbitant,  and  might  probably  have  been  agreed  to,  had 
they  been  known,  which  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  were. 

The  years  1765  and  1766  he  passed  in  a  journey 
through  Italy.  But  as  he  knew  too  well  the  nature  of  the 
multitude,  not  to  be  aware  that  a  long  retirement  would 
soon  cause  him  to  be  forgotten,  even  by  those  whose  sym- 
pathy in  bis  favour  was  most  warm,  when  the  duke  of 
Grafton  became  minister,  towards  the  end  of  1766,  Mr. 
Wilkes  solicited,  in  a  letter  to  him,  the  clemency  of  his 
sovereign  -,  and  finding  his  address  but  faintly  listened  to, 
be,  in  a  second  letter  to  the  same  nobleman,  again  called 
the  public  attention  to  his  case.  He  endeavoured  .also  to 
keep  bis  name  alive,  by  publishing  in  1767,  "  A  collection 
of  the  genuine  Papers,  Letters,  &c.  in  the  Case  of  J.Wilkes, 
late  member  for  Aylesbury  in  the  county  of  Bucks ;  &  Pa- 
ris, chczJ.  W.  imprimeur,  Rue  du  Columbier,  Fauxburgh 
St,  Germain,  &  F  Hotel  de  Saxe"  In  1768  he  again  ap- 
peared personally  upon  the  theatre  of  public  action.  On 
the  4tb  of  March  he  addressed  a  letter  of  submission  to  the 
king,  which  was -delivered, by  his  servant  at  Buckingham 
Gate.  This,  like  his  first  letter  to  the  duke  of  Grafton, 
supplieated  pardon,  which  one  of  his  biographers  says  be 
was  enabled  to  do  without  meanness,  because  "  in  no  one 
syllable  of  his  otherwise  offensive  publications  had  he  of- 
fended against  the  personal  respect  due  to  the  prince  on 
the  throne."  But  this  writer  surely  forgets  the  obvious 
tenour  of  his  No.  45,  as  well  as  the  repeated  and  atrocious 
attacks  be  made  on  the  princess  dowager,  his  majesty's 
mother.  •    ' 

No  attention  was  paid  to  this  petition,  and  probably  he 
had  no  great  reliance  on  it,  but  as  he  had  so  long  been  the 


W  i  L  K  £  S.  u 

Idol  of  the  people  of  London,  on  the  16tb  of  the  tame 
month,  be  offered  himself  a  candidate  to  represent  the  city 
of  London,  In  this  he  did  not  succeed,  although  at  the 
close  of  the  poll  on  the  23d  be  was  found  to  have  polled 
1247  votes.  Not  disheartened  at  this  failure,  he  iogme-* 
diately  declared  bis  intention  of  becoming  a  candidate  fotf 
the  county  of  Middlesex,  and  on  the  98tb  was  chosen  by  a 
vast  majority.  On  the  27th  of  April  he  was  taken  up  on  a 
capias  utlagatum,  and  committed  to  the  King's  Bench,  and 
on  the  18th  of  June  was  sentenced,  on  the  two  verdicts 
against  him,  .to  be  imprisoned  twenty«two  months,  to  pay 
two  fines  of  500/.  each,  and  to  give  security  for  his  good 
behaviour  for  sevenyefers,  himself  in  1000/.  and  two  sure- 
ties in  500/.  each.  This  judgment  wps  far  milder  than  had 
been  expected  by  the  public,  and  it  is  said  that  Mr.  Wilkes 
might  have  made  bis  peace  with  government  at  this  time, 
but  one  condition  was  proposed  to  him  in  which  he  could 
not  concur,  namely,  not  to  present  a  petition  relative  td  his 
case,  which  be  bad  tol^the  freeholders  of  Middlesex  he  » 
should  present.  He  conceived  that  a  public  pledge  had 
beeo  given  to  the  contrary,  and  from  this  public  pledge  be 
resolved  not  to  withdraw.  The  petition  was  accordingly 
laid  before  the  House  on  the  following  day  by  sir  J. 
Mawbey,  and  was  received  as  the  declaration  of  a  second 
war. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1768,  the  populace  had  assemble^ 
in  great  numbers  about  the  neighbourhood  of  the  King's 
Bench  prison,  where  Mr.  Wilkes  was  in  confinement.  The 
riot-act  was  read  by  the  justices  of  Surrey,  and  tkfe  mob 
not  dispersing,  the  military  was  ordered  to  fire :  several 
persons  were  slightly  wounded,  some  more  seriously,  and 
one  was  killed  on  the  spot.  jLord  Weymouth,  the  secre* 
tary  of  state,  bad  written  to  the  magistrates  a  letter  dated 
April  17,  exhorting  them  to  firmness  in  the  suppression  of 
any  popular  tumult  which  might  arise :  and  lord  Barring** 
ton,  -the  secretary  at  war,  returned  thanks,  after  the  lOfctf 
of  May,  in  the  name  of  his  majesty,  to  the  officers  and 
soldiers  of  thai  regiment  of  guards,  which  had  been  em- 
ployed upon  the  occasion.  These  two  letters  were  trans**, 
mined  to  the  newspapers  by  Mr.  Wilkes,  accompanied 
with  some  prefatory  remarks,  in  which  he  termed  the  un- 
happy transaction  a  massacre.  Of  these  remarks  he  avowed 
himself,  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Commons,  tq  be  the 
luthor.    The  remark*  were  voted  libellous,  and  be,  as  rbe 

Veu  XXXIL  F 


§&  WILKE& 

author  of  them,  was  expelled ;  bat  his  conduct  appearing 
still  more  meritorious  in  the  eyes  of  his  constituents,  he 
was  re-chosen  on  the  16th  of  February,  1769,  without  op- 
position* On  the  following  day  be  was  declared  by  a  ma-' 
jority  of  the  House  of  Commons  ineapahle  of  being  elected 
into  that  parliament,  and  the  election  was  vacated,  upon* 
the  principle  that  the  expulsion  of  a  member  of  parliament 
was  equivalent  to  exclusion  ; .  but  notwithstanding  this  re- 
solution, he  was  a  third  time  elected,  again  without  oppo- 
sition ;  a  Mr.  Dingley  indeed  offering  himself  as  a  candi- 
date, but  without  the  least  success.  In  April,  Wilkes  waft 
elected  a  fourth  time  by  a  majority  of  1143  votes  against 
Mr.  Luttrel),  a  new  candidate  who  had  only  296,  and  the 
same  day  the  House  of 'Commons  confirmed  Mr.  LuttrelPs 
election.  These  proceedings  were  not  carried  on,  how* 
ever,  without  long  discussions  in  the  House,,  and  a  warn* 
controversy  from  the  press,  in  which  many  eminent  writers 
took  a  part. 

In  the  mean  time,  Wilkes,  now  within  the  walls  of  the 
King's  Bench,  was  approaching  nearer  to  those  substantial 
rewards  which  he  valued  more  than  the  empty  .noise  of  a 
triumph.  From  the  time  of  bis  first  election  for  Middlesex 
in  March  1768,  through  the  whole  of  176-9,  and  even  far 
into  1772,  he  was  the  sole  unrivalled  political  idol  of  the 
people,  who  lavished  upon  him  all  in  their  power  to  be* 
stow,  as  if  willing  to  prove  that  in  England  it  was  possible 
for  an  individual  to  be  great  and  important  through  them 
alone.  A  subscription  was  opened,  for  the  payment  of  his 
debts,  and  20,000/.  are  said  in  a  few  weeks  to  have  been 
raised  for  that  purpose,  and  for  the  discharging  his  fine* 
A  newly  established  society  for  the  support  of  the  "  Bill  of 
Rights9'  presented  him  with  300/.  Gifts  of  plate,  of  wise, 
of  household  goods,  were  daily  heaped  upon  hkn,  A» 
unknown  patriot  conveyed  to  him  in  a  handsomely  em- 
broidered purse  five  hundred  guineas.  An  honest  chan- 
dler enriched  him  with  a  box  containing  of  candles,  the 
magic  number  of  dozens,  forty-five.  High  and  low  con- 
tended with  each  other  who  most  should  serve  and  celebrate 
him.  Devices  and  emblems  of  all  descriptions  ornamented 
the  trinkets  conveyed  to  his  prison  :  the  most  usual  was  the 
cap  of  liberty  placed  over  his  crest :  upon  others  was  a 
bird  with  expanded  wings,  hovering  over  a  cage,  beneath 
a  motto,  "  I  love  liberty.9*  Every  wall  bore  his  name,  and 
•very  window  his  portrait.    In  china,  in  bronze,  in  rsaxble, 


W  I  L  fc  E  S.  iS? 

be  stood  upon  the  cbiiriney-piece  of  half  the  houses  in  the 
metropolis :  add  he  swung  upon  the  sign-post  of  every 
Tillage,  and  of  every  great  road  throughout  the  environs  df 
London. 

In  November  l?69,  he  brought  his  action,  tfhich  had 
been  prevented  by  his  absehce  abroad,  against  lord  Hali- 
fax, for  false  imprisonment,  and  the  seizure  of  his  papers, 
and  obtained  a  verdict  of  4000/.  On  the  17th  of  April, 
1770,  be  was  discharged  from  bis  imprisonment.  On  the 
24th  be  was  sworn  as  alderman  of  the  ward  of  Farringdcm 
Without.  It  was,  however,  soon  discovered  that  there  was 
a  difference  of  opinion  in  many  points  between  him  and 
several  of  bis  former  friends*  Early  in  1771  a  rupture  be- 
tween him  and  Mr.  Home  (afterwards  Home  Tooke)  pro-* 
duced  hostilities  in  the  newspapers,  and  both  parties  ex- 
erted their  abilities  in  abusing  eadh  other  with  much  acri- 
mony, to  the  great  entertainment  of  the  public,  though 
little  to  their  own  credit.  After  some  time  it  was  found 
that  the  world  was  perverse  enough  to  believe  both  the 
gentlemen  in  their  unfavourable  representatifcrv  of  each 
other.  Mr.  Wilkes  soon  saw  this  effect  of  the  controversy, 
and  wisely  withdrew  from  it  on  being  chosen  sheriff  on  the 
3d  of  July,  1771.  His  antagonist  also,  being  left  to  him- 
self without  an  opponent,  and  feeling  the  disgrace  which 
he  had  brought  on '  himself,  also  prudently  and  silently 
quitted  the  field,  discomfited  and  disappointed. 

On  the  8tb  of  October,  1772,  Mr.  Wilkes  was  by  the 
livery  elected  one  of  the  persons  to  be  selected  for  lord 
mayor,  but  was  not  chosen  by  the  court  of  aldermen  ;  and 
the  same  circumstance  happened  the  succeeding  year.  On 
the  third  year  (1774)  he  was  again  elected  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  approved  by  the  court  of  aldermen.  On  the  20tb 
of  October  he  was  again  elected  member  for  the  county  of 
Middlesex,  and  was  permitted  to  take  his  seat  without  mo- 
lestation. The  popularity  which  he  had  hitherto  enjoyed 
was  now  to  suffer  some  diminution.  In  the  beginning  of 
1776  sir  Stephen  Theodore  Janssen  resigned  the  office  of 
chamberlain,  and  Mr.  Wilkes  was  a  candidate  to  succeed 
kitn ;  when,  notwithstanding  every  exertion  in  his  favour, 
and  every  art  employed,  he  lost  his  election,  and  Mr.  alder- 
man Hopkins  was  chosen,  by  a  majority  of  177.  He  made 
another  effort  in  the  succeeding  year  with  equal  ill  success; ' 
and  on  a  third  attempt  in  1778,  was  again  rejected,  having 
only  287  votes  against  1216.     His  situation  at  this  time  was 

*    F  2 


•6? 


.W  1  I  *  E  S. 


.truly  melancholy :  bis  interest  in  the  city  appeared  to  be 
lost;  a  motion  to  pay  bis  debts  had  been  rejected  in  the 
common  council ;  he  was  involved  in  difficulties  of  various 
kinds ;  his  creditors  were  clamorous ;  and  such  of  his  pro- 

Eerty  which  could  be  ascertaiued,  and  amongst  the  rest 
is  books,  had  been  taken  in  execution :  those  who  for- 
merly supported  him  were  become  cold  to  bis  solicitations, 
and  languid  in  their  exertions*  and  the  clouds  of  adversity 
seemed  to  gather  round  him  on  every  side,  without  a  ray 
of  light  to  cheer  bim.  While  in  this  forlorn  state,  Mr,  Hop- 
kins died  in  1779,  and  Mr.  Wilkes  at  length  obtained  an 
establishment,  which,  pro6tipg  by  experience,  rendered 
the  remainder  of  his  life  easy  a.nd  comfortable.  On  the  1st 
of  December  be  was  chosen  chamberlain,  by  a  majority  of 
1972  votes,  and  continued  to  fill  the  office  with  credit  to 
himself,  and  to  tbe  satisfaction  of  his  constituents,  during 
the  rest  of  his  life,  in  spite  of  some  feeble  attempts  at  op* 
position  to  him. 

In  1782,  upon  the  dismission  from  office  of  tbe  mi* 
lusters  yyho  conducted  the  war  against  America, 'the  ob- 
noxious resolutions  against  him  were,  at  length,  upon  his 
own  motion,  expunged  from  tbe  journals.  This  was  the 
crown  of  those  political  labours,  which  more  immediately 
poiicerned  bi?  own  personal  actions.  He  thenceforward 
deemed  bimsplf  '*  a  fire  burnt  out."  His  popularity  was 
fast  decaying,  and  although  he  tQok  the  popular  aide  in  the 
Contest  betwixt  Mr.  Pitt  and  Mr.  Fox. in  1783,  and  thereby 
secured  bis  election  in  1784,  be  did  not  venture  to  be  a 
candidate  in  the  general  election  of  1790.     That  be  was 

tiretty  wpll  tired  pf  "  his  followers,"  appears  from  a  short 
etter  to  his  daughter,  written  in  1784,  in  which  be  says, 
"  yesterday  was  sacred  to  the  powers  of  dullness,  and  the. 
anniversary  meeting  of  the  Quintuple  Alliance*  when  I  was 
obliged  to  eat  stale  fish,  and  swallow  sour  port,  with  sir 
£ecil  Wray,  JWr.  Martin  the  banker,  Dr.  J  ebb,  &c,  to  pro* 
mote  the  grand  refprn>  of  parliament.  I  was  forced  into 
the  chair,  ancj  was  so  far  happy  as  to  be  highly  applauded, 
both  for  a  long  speech,  %nd  my  conduct  as  president  through 
PO  arduous  day.  I  have  not,  however,  authenticated  to  the 
public  any  account  of  tbe  day's  proceeding,  nor  given  to 
the  press  the  various  new-fangled  toasts  which  were  the 
amusement  of  tbe  hour,  and  should  perish  with  it."    This 

*  Apolitical  club  not  09V  f xistinf. 


WILKES.  tl 

Insincerity  he  was  at  no  pains  tp  disguise,  and  after  he  had 
obtained  hb  wishes  as  to  situation,  he  appeared  always  suf- 
ficiently candid  in  ridiculing  the  persons  who  had  brought 
bini  to  it. 

Though  now  far  advanced  in  years,  he  shewed  no  decay 
6f  intellect  His  ahott  congratulatory  addresses  spoken  ai 
chamberlain  to  those  public  characters,  who  received  be-* 
tween  1790  and  1797  the  freedom  of  the  city,  were  his  last 
public  exertions.  He  died  Dec.  26, 1797,  aged  seventy,  at 
his  house  in  Grostenaj-aqtfare ;  and  his  remains  were  in- 
terred m  a  vault  in  Grosvenor  chapel,  South  Audley-street, 
according  t6  the  directions  of  his  will,  being  near  to  where 
he  died.  A  hearse  and  three  mourning-coaches,  and  Miss 
Wilkes's  coabh,  formed  the  cavalcade ;  and  eight  labouring 
men,  dressed  in  new  black  cloaths,  bore  the  deceased  to 
the  place  of  interment,  for  which  each  tnan  received  a 
guinea  besides  the  suit  of  cloaths.  He  has  also  directed 
a  tablet  to  be  placed  to  his  memory,  with  these  few  lines : 

'The  Rsmaiks 
op 

John  wilkes, 

A  FaiBND  to  Liberty. 
Boin  At  London,  Oct.  17>  1737,  0,S. 

DIBO  IN  THIS  PAJUSH. 

Mr.  Wilkes  left  behind  him  a  daughter,  Mai^r,  the' off- 
Spring  of  his  marriage  With  Miss  Mead;  Miss  Wilkes  sur- 
vived her  father  but  a  few  years',  she  died  the  1 2th  of  March 
1802,  aged  fifty-one.  He  left  abo  two  natural  children, 
but  scarcely  any  property. 

Wilkes  was  perhaps  the  most  popular  political  charac 
ter  that  ever  had  been  known,  or  perhaps  wilt  ever  be  known 
again,  for,  by  imposing  on  the  credulity,  he  has  added  to 
the  experience  of  mankind,  and  it  will  be  difficult,  although 
we  have  seen  it  tried,  for  any  other  pretender  to  imitate 
Wilkes  with  equal  effect  At  one  period  of  his  life,  he  ob- 
tained a  very  dangerous  influence  over  the  minds  of  the 
people  ;  bis  name  was  sufficient  to  blow  up  the  flames  of 
sedition,  and  excite  the  lower  orders  of  the  community  to 
acts  of  violence  against  his  opponents  in  a  manner 'some- 
thing allied  to  madness.  After  great  vicissitudes  of  fdrtune, 
he  round  himself  placed  in  a  state  of  independence  and  af- 
fluence; gradually  declined  from  the  popularity  he  had 
acquired,  and  at  last  terminated  a  turbulent  life  in  a  state 
of  neglected  quiet.     Reviewing  the  present  state  of  the 


to  WIU  E  S. 

Country,  atid  comparing  it  with  that  in  which  he  begad  bi# 
exertions,  though  some  advantages  may  be  placed  to  hia 
account)  we  hesitate  in  giving  him  credit  for  those  bene- 
ficial consequences  which  his  admirers  are  apt  to  ascribe 
to  him.  We  believe  he  was  a  patriot  chiefly  from  accident, 
a  successful  one  it  must  be  owned,  but  not  originating  in 
principle.  This  was  thought  even  in  his  life- time,  but  it 
has  been  amply  confirmed  by  two  publications  which  have 
since  appeared ;  the  one  "  Letters  from  the  year  1774  to< 
the  year  1796  of  John  Wilkes,  esq.  addressed  to  his  daugh- 
ter," 1804,  4  vols.  12mo,  with  a  well- written  memoir  of  bis 
life,  of  which  we  have  occasionally  availed  ourselves ;  the 
second,  "  The  Correspondence  of  John  Wilkw,  esq.  with 
his  friends,  printed  from  the  original  manuscripts,  in  which 
are  introduced  Memoirs  of  his  Life,  by  John  Almon,"  1 805, 
6  vols.  8vo,  a  publication  in  which  Mr..  Almon  is  the  great- 
est admirer  and  the  greatest  enemy  to  Mr.  Wilkes's  charac- 
ter he  ever  bad. 

Of  Wilkes's  private  character,  blackened,  with  no  sparing 
hand,  in  the  latter  of  these  publications,  there  are  parts 
which  always  conciliated  esteem.  He  was  a  gentleman  of 
elegant  manners,  of  fine  taste,  and  of  pleasing  conversa- 
tion* Amidst  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  life,  he  spared  dome 
hours  for  the  cultivation  of  classical  learning,  and  in  1790, 
paid  his  worthy  deputy  (of  the  ward)  John  Nichols,  esq. 
whom  he  highly  and  deservedly  esteemed,  the  compliment 
.  of  publishing  from  his  press,  for  the  use  only  of  particular  . 
friends,  splendid  editions  of  the  characters  of  Tbeophrastus 
aod  the  poems  of  Catullus;  and  he  had  also  made  considerable 
progress  in  a  translation  of  Anacr^on.  His  own  letters  and 
speeches  were  collected  in  1769,  3  vols.  l2mo,  his  speeches, 
by  himself,  in  1787,  1  vol.  8vo,  to  which,  in  1788,  he  added 
a  single  speech  in  defence  of  bis  excellent  friend,  Mr. 
•Hastings;  on  which  be  justly  prided  himself;  it  being, 
perhaps,  the  ablest  exculpation  of  that  gentleman  which  has 
appeared  in  print.  Many  other  of  his  occasional  effusions 
are  scattered  through  the  newspapers  and  magazines  of  the 
day,  and  the  principal  have  been  reprinted  in  Mr.  Almon'a 
book.1 

WILKES  (Richard),  an  English  antiquary  and  physi- 
cian, was  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  Richard  Wilkes,  of  Willen- 

> 

1  Almon'*  &rreipondeace.-»and  «  Letters"  nborcmeatiooed,— Qent,  Mar, 
1798,  fee. 


WILKES.  7| 

fall,  in  the  county  of  Stafford,  a  gentleman  who  lived  apon 
his  own  estate,  and  wiiere  his  ancestors  had  been  seated 
since  the  time  of  Edward  IV.  His  mother  was  Lucretia, 
youngest  daughter  of  Jonas  Asteley,  of  Woodeaton,  in  Staf- 
fordshire, an  ancient  and  respectable  family.  He  was  born 
March  16, 1690-91,  and  had  his  school-education  at  Trent- 
ham.  He  was  entered  of  St.  John's  college,  Cambridge, 
March  13, 1709- 10,  and  was  admitted  scholar  in  1 7 10.  On 
April  6,  1711,  he  attended  Mr.  Sauoderson's  mathematical  • 
lectures,  and  ever  after  continued  a  particular  friendship 
with  that  gentleman.  In  the  preface  to  "  Saunderson's 
Elements  of  Algebra,"  the  reader  is  told,  that  whatever 
materials  had  been  got  together  for  publishing  Saunder* 
son's  life,  had  been  received,  among  other  gentlemen,  from 
Mr.  Richard  Wilkes.  He  took  the  degree  of  B.A.  Janu- 
ary 1713^14;  and  was  chosen  fellow  Jan.  21,  1716*17 ; 
and  April  11,  17.16,  was  admitted  into  lady  Sadler's  Alge* 
bra  Lecture,  and  took  the  degree  of  M.  A.  at  the  com- 
mencement of  1717;  also  July  4,  1718,  he  was  chosen 
JLtnacre  Lecturer.  It  does  not  appear  that  he -ever  took 
any  degrees  in  medicine.  He  seems  to  have  taken  pupils 
and  taught  mathematics  in  the  college  from  1715  till  the 
time  that  he  left  it.  It  is  not  known 'when,  he  took  dea- 
con's orders,  but  a  relation  of  his  remembered  his  having 
preached  at  Wolverhampton.  He  abo  preached  some  time  ' 
at  Stow,,  near  C hartley*  The  disgust  he  took  to  the  mi- 
nistry has  been  imputed  to  his  being  disappointed  in  the 
hope  of  preferment  in  the  oburch,  and  he  thought  he  could 
make  his  talents,  turn  to  better  account,  and  accordingly 
began  to  practise  physic  >at  Wolverhampton,  Feb.  1720, 
and  became  very  eminent  in  his  profession.  On  the  24th 
June  1725,  he  married  Miss  Rachel  Manlove,of  Lee's-hill, 
near  Abbots  Bromley  in  Staffordshire,  with  whom  he  had 
a  handsome  fortune,  and  from  that  time  be  dwelt  with  his 
father  at  Willenhalj.  In  the  beginning  of  1747  he  bad  a 
severe  fit  of  illness,  during  which,  among  other  employ* 
menu,  be  composed  a  whimsical  epitaph  on  himself,  which 
may  be  seen  in  Shaw's  History  of  Staffordshire.  His  wife 
dying  in  May  1756,  he  afterwards  married  in  October  the 
same,  year,  Mrs.  Frances  Bendish  (sister  to,  the  late  Rev. 
sir  Richard  Wrottesley,  of  Wrottesley,  bart.)  who  died  Dec 
24,  1798,  at  Frox field,  Hampshire,  at  a  very  advanced  age. 
Dr.  Wilkes  died  March  6, 1760,  of  the  gout  in  his  stomach, 
greatfy  lamented  by  his  tenants,  to  whom  he  had  been  an 


72  W  I  L  K  E  8. 

indulgent  landlord,  and  by  the  poor  to  whom  be  bad  been 
a  kind  and  liberal  physician  and  friend. 
.    He  published  an  excellent  "  Treatise  on  the  Dropsy," 
and  during  the  time  that  the  distemper  raged  in  Stafford- 
shire among  the  horned  cattle,  he  published  a  pamphlet, 
entitled  "  A  Letter  to  the  Gentlemen,  Farmers,  and  Gra- 
ziers, in  the  county  of  Stafford,"  calculated  to  prevent,  or 
cure  that  terrible  plague.     Among  other  things,  he  medi- 
tated a  new  edition  of  Hudibras,  with  notes,  &c.     As  an 
antiquary  be  is  principally  known  by  his  valuable  collec- 
tions for  the  history  of  Staffordshire.     His  chef-d'oeuvre, 
says  Mr.  Shaw,  is  a  general  history  from  the  earliest  and 
most  obscure  ages  to  his  own  times,  drawn  up  with  great 
#  skill  and  erudition,  which  Mr.  Shaw  has  made  the  basis  of 
his  own  introduction.     This,  with  his  other  manuscripts, 
were  long  supposed  to  have  been  lost,  and  were  not  indeed 
brought  to  light  until  1792,  when  they  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Sbaw,  who  has  incorporated  them  in  bis  valuable 
history.1 

WILKIE  (William),  a  Scotch  poet  of  some  fame  in  hi* 
day,  was  bom  in  the  parish  of  Dalmeny,  in  the  county  of 
West  Lothian,  Oct.  5, 1721.  His  father,  although  a  small 
farmer,  and  poor  and  unfortunate,  endeavoured  to  give  him 
a  liberal  education,  which  he  appears  to  have  improved  by 
diligence.  At  the  age  of  thirteen,  be  was  sent  to  the  nut* 
▼ersity  of  Edinburgh,  where  he  made  a  rapid  progress  in 
learning,  bnt  before  he  completed  his  academical  course, 
his  father  died,  leaving  him  no  other  inheritance  than  bis 
small  farm,  and  the  care  of  three  sisters.  Necessity  thus 
turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  agriculture,  which  he 
cultivated  with  so  much  success,  although  upon  a  conBned 
scale,  that  he  acquired  a  solid  reputation  as  a  practical  far- 
mer, and  was  enabled  to  provide  for  himself  and  bis  sisters. 
|Ie  still,  however,  prosecuted  his  studies,  and  at  the  accus- 
tomed period  was  admitted  a  preacher  in  the  church  of 
Scotland, 

For  some  years  this  made  no  alteration  in  bis  mode  of 
life ;  and  as  a  clergyman  he  only  occasionally  assisted  in 
some  neighbouring  churches,  while  be  devoted  his  princi- 
pal time  to  his  farm  and  bis  studies.  He  appears  to  have 
been  early  ambitious  of  tbe  character  of  a  poet,  and  having 
read  Homer,  as  Don  Quixote  read  romances,  he  determined 

l  Stuw>»  Hist  of  Staffordshire  to!.  II.  Part  I.  p.  147,  148,  an*  PreC  to  vet*  U 


W  I  L  K  I  E.  *73 

totally  forth  ai  bis  rival,  or  continuator;  and  this  enthusi- 
asm produced  "The  Epigoniad,"  published  in  1753.  On 
this  poem  be  is  said  to  have  employed  (fourteen  years,  which 
ill  agrees  with  what  hts  biographers  tell  us  of  his  propensity 
to  poetry,  and  the  original  vigour  of  his  jnipd ;  for  after  so 
much  labour  it  appeared  with  all  the  imperfections  of  a 
rough  sketch.  Its  reception  by  the  English  public  was  not 
very  flattering,  but  in  his  own  country  "The  Epigoniad" 
succeeded  so  well,  that  a  second  edition  was  called  for  in 
1759,  to  which  he  added  a  dream  in  the  manner  of  Spen- 
ser. Yet,  as  this  edition  was  slowly  called  for,  an  extraor- 
dinary appeal  from  the  general  opinion  was  made  by  the 
celebrated  Hume,  who  wrote  a  very  long  encomium  on  the 
"Epigoniad,"  addressed  to  the  editor  of  the  Critical  Review. 
This  has  been  inserted  in  the  late  edition  of  the  "  English 
Poets,"  and  those  who  knew  Mr.  Hume's  taste,  friendship, 
or  sincerity,  will  be  best  able  to  determine  whether  he  is 
serious. 

A  few  years  before  the  publication  of  the  first  edition, 
Wilkie  was  ordained  minister  of  Ratho,  and  in  1759  was 
chosen  professor  of  natural  philosophy  in  the  university  of 
St.  Andrew's.  In  1766  the  university  conferred  upon  him 
the  degree  of  doctor  in  divinity.  In  1768,  he  published  his 
*  Fables,"  which  had  less  success  than  even  his  "  Epigo- 
niad," although  they  are  rather  happy  imitations  of  the 
manner  of  Gay,  and  the  thoughts,  if  not  always  original, 
are  yet  sprightly  and  just.  After  a  lingering  illness,  he 
died  Oct.  10, 1772.  The  private  character  of  Dr. Wilkie 
appears  to  have  been  distinguished  for  those  singularities, 
-which  are  sometimes  found  in  men  of  genius,  either  from 
early  unrestrained  indulgence,  or  from  affectation.  His 
biographers  have  multiplied  instances  of  his  slovenly  and 
disgusting  manners,  exceeding  what  we  have  almost  ever 
heard  of;  yet  we  are  told  he  preserved  the  respect  of  his* 
contemporaries  and  scholars.  His  learning,  according  to 
every  account,  was  extensive,  and  much  of  it  acquired  at 
a  very  early  age.  * 

WILKINS  (David),  a  learned  divine  and  editor,  was 
born  in  1685,  but  when,  or  where  educated  we  are  not  told. 
His  name  does  not  appear  among  the  graduates  of  either 
university,  except  that  among  those  of  Cambridge,  we  find  ' 
he  wa»  honoured  with  the  degree  of  D.D.  in  1717.    Two 

i,£acyclop.  Brit.— English  Poets,  1810,  21  Vols.  8vo. 


7*  W  I  L  K  I  N  3. 

years  before  this,  he  was  appointed  by  archbishop  Wale  ta> 
•succeed  Dr.  Benjamin  Abbot,  as  keeper  of  the  archiepis- 
copal  library  at  Lambeth ;  and  in  three  years  drew  up  a 
v*ry  curious  catalogue  of  all  the  MS8.  and  printed  books 
in  that  valuable  collection.  As  a  reward  for  his  industry 
jarxl  learning,  archbishop  Wake  collated  him.  to  the  rectory 
of  Mongbam-Parva,  in  Kent,  in  April  1716,  to  that  of 
<5reat  Chart  in  1719,  and  to  the  rectory  of  Hadleigh  in  the 
tame  year.  He  was  also  constituted  chaplain  to  the  arch- 
•bishop  and  collated  to  the  rectories  of  Monks-Ely  and 
Booking  ;  appointed  commissary  of  the  deanery  of  Bock* 
ing,  jointly  and  severally  with  W.  Beaavoir  ;  collated  to  a 
•prebend~of  Canterbury  in  1720,  and  collated  to  his  grace's 
/option  of  the  archdeaconry  of  Suffolk  in  May  1724.  In 
consequence  of  these  last  preferments,  he  resigned  the 
former,  and  was  only  archdeacon  of  Suffolk  and  rector  of 
Hadleigh  and  Monks-Ely.  at  his  death,  which  happened 
Sept.  6,  1745,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age.  He  married. 
Nor.  27, 1725,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Thomas  lord  Fairfax 
of  Scotland,  a  lady  who  survived  him,  and  erected  a  monu- 
ment to  his  memory  at  Hadleigh. 

Dr.Wilkins's  publications  were,  1.  "  Novum  Testamen- 
tum  Copticum,"  Oxon.  1716,  4 to.  2.  A  fine  edition,  with 
additions,  of  the  "Leges  Saxonies,"  Lond.  1721,  fol.  & 
An  edition  of"  Seidell's  works,"  begun  in  1722,  and  finished 
in  1726,  very  highly  to  the  credit  of  Dr.  Wilkins,  as  well 
as  of  his  learned  printer,  Bowyer,  Lond.  3  vols,  folio.  This 
work  was  published  by  subscription,  in  a  manner  that  would 
now  be  thought  singular.  The  small  paper  copies  were 
paid  for  at  the  rate  of  two-pence  a  sheet,  which  amounted 
to  .€/.  145. :  the  large  paper  at  three-pence  a  sheet,  amount- 
ing  to  10/.  2s.  4.  "  Concilia  Magnae  Britanoise,"  1736, 
4  vols.  fol.  Besides  these  he  wrote  the  preface  on  the  lite- 
rary history  of  Britain,  which  is  prefixed  to  bishop  Tanner's 
"  Bibliotheca."  > 

WILKINS  (John),  an  ingenious  and  learned  English 
bishop,  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Walter  Wilkins,  citizen  and 
goldsmith  of  Oxford,  and  was  born  in  1614,  at  Fawsley, 
near  Daventry,  in  Northamptonshire,  in  the  house  of  his 
mother's  father,  the  celebrated  dissenter  Mr.  John  Dod. 
He  was  taught  Latitf  and  Greek  by  Edward  Sylvester,  a 
teacher  of  much  reputation,  who  kept  a  private  school  in 

1  Nichols's  Bowyer* 


W  I  L  K  I  N  S.  75 

the  parish  of  All-Saints  in  Oxford ;  and  bis  proficiency 
was  such,  that  at  thirteen  he  entered  a  student  of  New-inn- 
hall,  in  1627.     He  made  no  long  stay  there,  but  was  tc* 
moved  to  Magdalen -hall,  under  the  tuition  of  Mr.  John 
Tombes,  and  there  took  the  degrees  in  arts.     He  after- 
wards entered  into  orders;  and  was  first  chaplain  toAVil- 
liam  lord  Say,  and  then  to  Charles  count  palatine  of  the 
Rhine,  and  prince  elector  of  the  empire,  with' whom  he  con- 
tinued some  time.     To  this  last  patroo,  his  skill  in  the  ma* 
thematics  was  a  very  great  recommendation.     Upon  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  he  joined  with  the  parliament, 
and  took  the  solemn  league  and  covenant.     He  was  after- 
wards made  warden  of  Wadbam-college  by  the  cdmmittee 
of  parliament,  appointed  for  reforming  the  university ;  and^ 
being  created  bachelor  of  divinity  the  12th  of  April,  1648, 
was  the  day  following  put  into  possession  of  his  warden- 
ship.     Next  year  be  was  created  D.  D.  and  about  that  time 
took  the  engagement  then  enjoined  by  the  gpwers  in  being. 
In  1656,  be  married  Robina,  the  widow  of  Peter. French, 
formerly  canon  of  Christ-church,  and  sister  to  Oliver  Crom- 
well, then  lord -protector  of  England :  which  marriage  being 
contrary  to  the  statutes  of  Wadbam-college,  because  they 
prohibit  the  warden  from  marrying,  be  procured  a  dispen- 
sation from  Oliver,  to  retain  the  wardenship  notwithstand- 
ing. .  In  1659,  he  was  by  Richard  Cromwell  made  master 
of  Trinity-college  in  Cambridge;  but  ejected  thence  the 
year0following  upon  the  restoration.     Then   be  became 
preacher  to  the  honourable  society  of  Gray's-inn,  and  rec- 
tor of  St.  Lawrence-Jewry,  London,  upon  the  promotion 
Dr.  Seth  Ward  to  the  bishopric  of  Exeter.     About  this 
time,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society,   was 
chosen  of  their  council,  and  proved  one  of  their  most  emi- 
nent members.     Soon  after  this,  he. was  mfede  dean  of  Rip- 
op;  and,  in  1668,  bishop  of  Chester,  Dr.  Tiltotson,  who 
aii  married  bis  daughter-in-law,  preaching  his  consecra- 
tion sermon.     Wood  and  Burnet  both  inform  us,  that  be 
obtained  this  bishopric,  by  the  interest  of  Villiers  duke  of 
Buckingham  ;  and  the  latter  adds,  that  it  was  no  small  pre- 
judice against  him  to  be  raised  by  so  bad  a  man;    Dr.  Wal- 
ter Pope  observes,  that  Wilkins,  for  some  time  after  the 
restoration,  was  out  of  favour  both  at  Whitehall  and  Lam- 
beth, on  account  of  his  marriage  with  Oliver  Cromwell's 
sister ;  and  that  archbishop  Sheldon,  who  then  disposed  of 
almost  all  ecclesiastical  preferments)  opposed  his  promo- 


i 


7«  WILKINS. 

• 

tion;  that,  however,  when  bishop  Ward  introduced  fatal 
afterwards  to  the  archbishop,  be  was  veiy  obligingly  re* 
carved,  and  treated  kindly  by  him  ever  after.  He  did  not 
enjoy  his  preferment  long ;  for  he  died  of  a  suppression  of 
Urine,  which  was  mistaken  for  the  stone,  at  Dr.  Tilkrtson's 
hotf*e»  in  Chancery-lane,  London*  Nov.  49, 1672.  He  was 
buried  in  the  chancel  of  the  church  of  St.  Lawrence  Jewry ; 
and  his  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  William  Lloyd) 
then  dean  x>f  Bangor,  who,  although  Wilkins  bad  been  * 
'  abased  and  vilified  perhaps  beyond  any  man  of  his  time, 
thought  it  no  shame  to  say  every  thing  that  was  good  ctf 
him.  Wood  also,  different  as  his  complexion  and  princi* 
pies  werfe  from  those  of  Wilkins,  has  been  candid  enough 
to  give  him  the  following  character :  "  He  was,"  says  he, 
"  a  person  endowed  with  rare  gifts ;  he  was  a  noted  theo* 
legist  and  preacher,  a  curious  critic  in  several  matters,  art 
excellent  roatbeftiatidian  and  experimentist,  and  one  as  well 
seen  in  mechanisms  and  new  philosophy,  of  which  he  wad 
a  great  promoter,  as  any  dittft  of  bis  time.  He  also  highly 
advanced  the  study  and  perfecting  of  astronomy,  both  at 
Oxford  while  he  was  warden  of  Wadham-college,  and  at 
London  while  be  was  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society ;  and  I 
cannot  say  that  there  was  any  thing  deficient  iti  him,  but  4 
constant  mind  and  settled  principles." 

Wilkins  had  two  characteristics,  neither  of  which  was 
calculated  to  make  him  generally  admired :  first,  he  avowed 
moderation,  and  was  kindly  affected  towards  dissenters,  for 
a  comprehension  of  whom  he  openly  and  earnestly  con- 
tended :  secondly,  be  thought  it  right  and  reasonable  td 
submit  to  the  powers  in  being,  be  those  powers  who  they 
would,  or  let  them  be  established  bow  they  wtaitd.  And 
this  making  him  as  ready  to  swear  allegiance  to  Charles  II. 
after  he  was  restored  to  the  crown,  as  to  the  usurpers,  white 
they  prevailed,  he  was  charged  with  being  various  and  un> 
steady  in  his  principles;  with  having  no  principles  aft  all, 
with  Hobbism,  and  every  fbrrtg  that  is  bad.  Yet  the 
greatest  and  best  qualities  are  ascribed  to  bim,  if  not  una- 
nimously, at  least  by'  many  eminent  and  gdod  men.  Dr. 
Tillotson,  in  the  preface  to  some  "  Sermons  of  Bishop 
Wilkins,"  published  by  bim  in  1682,  animadverts  upon  a 
slight  and  unjust  character,  as  he  thinks  it  is,  given  of  the  . 
bishop  in  Mr.  Wood's  "  Historia  &  Antiquitates  Universt- 
tatiB  Oxoniensis  ;"  *'  whether  by  the  author,"  says  he,  "or 
by  some  other  hand,  I  am  not  curious  to  know :"  and  con- 


W  I  L  K  1  $  «.  7T 

m 

eludes  his  animadversions  in  the  following  word 5 :  "  Upon 
the  whole,  it  hath  often,  been  no  small  matter  of  wonder  to 
me,  whence  it  should  come  to  pass,  that  so  great  a  man*, 
and  so  great  a  lover  of  mankind,  who  was  so  highly  valued 
and  reverenced  by  all  that  knew  him, » should  yet  have  the 
bard  fate  to  fall  under  the  heavy  displeasure  and  censure 
of  those  who  knew  him  not ;  and  that  he,  who  never  Had 
any  thing  to  make  himself  one  personal  enemy,  should 
Jiave  the  ill  fortune  to  have  so  many,  I  think  I  may  truly 
pay,  that  there  are  or  have  been  very  few  in  this  age  and 
patjoi)  40  well  known,  and  so  greatly  esteemed  and  favoured} 
by  so  many  persona  of  high  rank  and  quality,  and  of  sin* 
gulpr  worth  and  eminence  in  all  the  learned  professions,  a* 
our  author  was.  And  this  surely  cannot  be  denied  him,  k 
is  so  well  known  to  many  worthy  persons  yet  living,  and 
bath  been  so  often  acknowledged  even  by  his  enemies,  that, 
in  the  late  times  of  confusion,  almost  all  that  was  preserved 
s>nd  kept  up,  of  ingenuity  and  gopd  learning,  of  good 
wder  and  government  in  the  university  of  Oxford,  wqa 
fhiefly  owing  to  bis  prudent  cqnduct  and  encouragement  t 
which  consideration  alone,  had  there  been  no  other,  might 
have  prevailed  with  some  there  to  have  treated  his  memory 
With  at  least  common  kindness  and  respect."  The  other 
band,  Dr.  Tjllotson  mentions,  was  Dr.  Fell,  the  dean  of 
Christ  church,  and  under  whose  inspection  Wood's 
f  Athenae  Qxonienses"  was  translated  into  Latin ;  and  who, 
among  other  alterations  without  the  privity  of  that  com- 
piler,  ifas  supposed  to  insert  the  poor  diminishing  char*** 
ter  of  bishop  Wilkins,  to  be  found  in  the  Latin  version 
The  friendship  which  subsisted  between  our  author  and 
Pr.  Tillotson  is  a  proof  of  their  mutual  moderation,  for 
Wilkins  was  in  doctrine  a  strict  and  professed  Calvinist. 
Wfl  need  quote  no  more  to  prove  this*  than  what  has;  been 
thready  quoted  by  Dr.  Edwards  in  his  "Veritas  Redux," 
p.  $53.  <f  God  might  (says  Dr.  Wilkins)  have  designed  qs 
for  vessels  of  wrath  ;  and  then  we  had  been  eternally  un- 
done, without  all  possible  remedy.  There  was  nothing  to 
mpve  bins  in  us,  when  we  lay  all  together  in  the  general 
heap  of  mankind.  It  was  his  own  free  gra?e  and  bounty, 
that  made  him  to  take  delight  in  us,  to  cbuse  us  from  the 
rest,  and  to  sever  us  from  those  many  thousands  in  the 
World  who  shall  perish  everlastingly."  Gift  of  Prayer,  c. 
28,  Jn  his'*1  Ecciesiastes,"  section  3,  he  commends  ton 
preacher,  for  his  best  authors,  Calvin,  Junius,  P.  Martyr, 


19  WILK1N8. 

Musculus,  Paraeus,  Piscator,  Rivet,  Zaocbius,  &c.  m 
"  most  eminent  for  their  orthodox  sound  judgement"  .Bur- 
net, in  his  Life  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  printed  in  1682, 
declares  of  Wilkins,  that "  he  was  a  man  of  as  great  a  mirid, 
as  true  a  judgement,  as  eminent  virtues,  and  of  as  good  a 
isoul,  as  any  he  ever  knew  •"  and  in  his  "  History'*  he  says, 
that,  though  "he  married  Cromwell's  sister,  yet  he  made 
no  other  use  of  that  alliance  but  to  do  good  offices,  and  to 
cover  the  university  of  Oxford  from  the  sourness  of  Owen 
and  Goodwin.  At  Cambridge  he  joined  with  those  who 
studied  to  propagate  better  thoughts,  to  take  men  off  from 
being  in  parties,  or  from  narrow  notions,  from  supersti- 
tious conceits,  and  fierceness  about  opinions.  He  was  also 
a  great  observer  and  promoter  of  experimental  philosophy, 
which  was  then  a  new  thing,  and  much  looked  dfter.  He 
was  naturally  ambitious,  but  was  the  wisest  clergyman  I 
ever  knew.  He  was  a  lover  of  mankind,  and  had  a  delight 
in  doing  good.'9  The  historian  mentions  afterwards  another 
quality  Wilkins  possessed  in  a  supreme  degree ;  and  that 
was,  says  he,  "  a  courage,  which  could  stand  against  a 
current,  and  against  all  the  reproaches  with  which  ill-na- 
tured clergymen  studied  to  load  him." 

All  the  works  of  bishop  Wilkins  are  esteemed  ingenious 
and  learned, .  and  many  of  them  particularly  curious  and 
entertaining.  His  first  publication  was  in  1638,  when  he 
was  only  twenty-four  years  of  age,  of  a  piece,  entitled 
"  The  Discovery  of  a  new  World  ;  or,  a  Discourse  tending 
to  prove,  that  it  is  probable  there  may  be.anotber  babitab>e 
World  in  the  Moon ;  with  a  Discourse  concerning  the  pos- 
sibility of  a  passage  thither,"  in  8vo.  The  object  of  this' 
singular  work  may  appear  from  the  fourteen  propositions 
which  he  endeavours  to  establish,  some  of  which  have  often 
been  quoted  in  jest  or  earnest  by  subsequent  wits*  or  phi- 
losophers* He  contends,  I.  That  the  strangeness  of  this 
opinion  is  no  sufficient  reason  why  it  should  be  rejected,' 
because  other  certain  truths  have  been  formerly  esteemed 
ridiculous,  and  great  absurdities  entertained  by  common 
consent.  II.  That  a  plurality  of  worlds  does  not  contra-' 
diot  any  principle  of  reason  or  faith.  IIL  That  the  hea-' 
vens  do  not  consist  of  any  such  pure  matter,  which  can* 

*  Among  others  the  famous  duchess  pressed  his  surprise  that  this  objection 

of  Newcastle  objected  to  Dr.  Wilkins,  should  be  made*  by  a  lady  who  had 

the  want  of  baiting-places  in  bis  way  been  all  her  life  employed  in  building 

to  the  new  world,  when  the  doctor  es-  catties  in  tJm  sir* 


WI  L  K  I  N  S.  T» 

a 

privilege  tbem  from  the .  like  change  and  corruption,  as 
these  inferior  bodies  are  liable,  upto.  IV.  That  the  moot* 
is  a  solid  compacted  opacous  body.  V*  That  the  moou 
hath  not  any  light  of  her  own.  <  VI.  That  there,  is  a  world 
in  the  moon,  hath  been  the  direct  opinion  of  many  ancient, 
with  some  modern  mathematicians,  and  may  probably  be 
deduced  from  the. tenets  of  others.  VII.  That  those  spots 
and  brighter  parts,  which  by  our  sight  may  be  distinguished 
in  the  moon,  do  shew  the  difference  betwixt  the  sea  anil 
land  in  that  other  world*  VIII*  That  the  spots  represent 
the  sea,  and  the  brighter  parts  the  land.  IX,  That  there 
are  high  mountains,  deep  vallies,  and  spacious  plains  m 
the  body  of  the  moon.  X.  *  That  there  is  an  atmosphere, 
or  an  orb  of  gross  vaporous  air  immediately  encompassing 
the  body  of  the  moon.  XL  That  as  their  world  is  our 
moon,  so  our  world  is  their  moon.  XII.  That  it  is  pro- 
bable there  nay  be  such  meteors  belonging  to  that  world 
in  the  moon  as  there  are  with  us.  XIII,  That  it  is  pro^ 
bable  there  may  be  inhabitants  in  this  other  world  ;  but  of 
what  kind  they  are,  is  uncertain.  XIV.  That  it  is  possi- 
ble for  some  of  our  posterity  to  find  out  a  conveyance  to 
this  other  world  ;  and  if  there  be  inhabitants  there,  to  havte 
commerce  with  tbem.  Under  this  head  he  observes* 
that  "  if  it  be  here  inquired,  what  means  there  may  be 
conjectured  for  Qur  ascending  beyond  the  sphere  of  the 
earth's  magoetical  vigour ;  I  answer,  says  be,  J.  It  is  not 
perhaps  impossible,  that  a  man  may  be  able  to  ilye  by  the 
application  of  wings  to  his  owne  body;  as  angels  are  .pic- 
tured, and  as  Mercury  and  Daedalus  are  fained,  and  as 
bath  been  attempted  by  divers,  particularly  by  a  Turke  ia 
Constantinople,. as  Busbequius  relates.  2.  If  there  be  such, 
a  great  Ruck  in  Madagascar,  as  Marcus  Polus  the  Vene- 
tian mentions,  the  feathers  in  whose  wings  are  twelve  foot 
long,  which  can  soppe  up  a  horse  and  his  rider,  or  an  ele- 
phant, as  our  kites  doe  a  mouse ;  why  then  it  is  but  teach^ 
ing  one  of  these  to  carry  a  man,  and  he  may  ride  up  thither, 
as. Ganymed  does  upon  an  eagle.  3.  Or  if  neither  of  those 
ways  will  serve,  yet  I  doe  seriously  and  upon  good  grounds- 
affirme  it  possible  to  .make  a  flying  chariot;  iu  which  a  man 
may  sit,  and  give  such  a  motion  into  it,  as  shall  convey 
him  through  the  aire.  And  this  perhaps  might  be  made 
large  enough  to  carry  divers  men  at  the  same  time,  toge- 
ther with  foode  for  their  viaticum,  and  commodities  for. 
^rafJBquew     It  is  not  the  hignesse  of  any  thing  in  this  kind,, 


to  W  1  L  K  I  N  S. 

that  can  hinder  its  motion,  if  the  motive  faculty  be  answer-* 
able  thereunto.  We  see  a  great  ship  swimme  as  well  as  a 
small  corke,  and  an  eagle  flies  in  the  aire  *s  well  as  a  little 
gnat.  This  engine  may  be  contrived  from  the  same  prin- 
ciples by  which  Archytas  made  a  wooden  dove,  and  Re- 
giomontanus  a  wooden  eagle.  I  conceive  it  were  ho  difli-< 
cult  matter,  if  a  man  had  leisure,  to  shew  more  particiU 
larly  the  meanes  of  composing  it.  The  perfecting  of  suck 
an  invention  would  be  of  such  excellent  use,  that  it  were? 
enough,  not  only  to  make  a  man,  but  the  age  also  wfaereit* 
he  lives.  For  besides  the  strange  discoveries,  that  it  might 
occasion  in  this  other  world,  it  would  he  also  6f  inconceiv- 
able advantage  for  travelling  above  any  other  conveiance 
that  is  now  in  use.  So  that  notwithstanding  all  these  seem- 
ing impossibilities,  'tis  likely  enough,  that  there  may  be  a 
meanes  invented  of  journying  to  the  moone.  And  bow 
happy  shall  they  be,  that  are  first  successefidl  iu  this  at- 
tempt? 

<  ■■■  Foelicesq ;  Animie,  quas  nubila  supra, 
Et  turpes  tamos,  plenumq ;  vaporibus  orbexn, 
Inseruit  Coelo  sancti  seintUla  Fromethei.' 

Having  thus  finished  this  discourse,  I  chanced  upon  a  late 
fancy  to  this  purpose  under  the  fained  name  of  Domingo 
Gonzales,  written  by  a  late  reverend  and  learned  bishop 
(Godwin);  in  which  v(besides  sundry  particulars,  wherein 
this  later  chapter  did  unwittingly  agree  with  it)  there  is 
delivered  a  very  pleasant  and  well  contrived  fancy  concern-* 
ing  a  voyage  to  this  other  world.'* 

Two  years  after,  in  1640,  appeared  his  "Discourse  con- 
cerning a  new  Planet;  tending  to  prove,  that  it  is  probable 
eur  Earth  is  one  of  the  planets.'*  In  this  he  maintains  ;  1. 
That  the  seeming  novelty  and  singularity  of  this  opinion 
ean  be  no  sufficient  reason  to  prove  it  erroneous.  2.  That; 
the  places  of  Scripture,  which  seem  to  intimate  the  diur- 
nal motion  of  the  sun  or  heavens,  are  fairly  capable  of  ano- 
ther interpretation.  3.  That  the  Holy  Ghost  in  many 
places  of  Scripture  does  plainly  conform  his  expressions  to* 
the  error  of  our  conceits,  and  does  not  speak  of  sundry 
things  as  they  are  in  themselves,  but  as  they  appear  unto 
us.  4.  That  divers  learned  men  have  fallen  into  great  ab- 
surdities, whilst  they  have  looked  for  the  grounds  of  philo- 
sophy from  the  grounds  of  Scripture.  5.  That  the  words  of 
Scripture  in  their  proper  and  strict  construction  do  not  any 
where  affirm  the  immobility  of  the  earth.     f.JThat  there  i* 


W  i  L  K  I  N  9.  81 

ml  any  argument  from  the  words  of  Scripture,  principles 
of  nature,  or  observations  in  astronomy,  which  can  suffix 
ciently  evidence  the  earth  to  be  in  the  center  of  the  uni- 
verse. 7.  It  is  probable  that  the  sun  is  the  center  of  the 
world.  8.  That  there  is  not  any  sufficient  reason  to  prove 
the  earth  incapable  of  those  motions!  which  Copernicus 
ascribes  unto  it.  9.  That  it  is  more  probable  the  earth 
does  move,  than  the  heavens.  10.  That  this  hypothesis  is 
exactly  agreeable  to  common  appearances. 

His  name  was  not  put  to  either  of  these  works ;  but  they 
were  so  well  knovWi  to  be  his,  that  Langrenus,  in  his  map 
of  the  moon,  dedicated  to  the  king  of  Spain,  calls  one  of 
the  lunar  spots  after  Wilkins's  name.  His  third  piece,  in 
1641,  is  entitled  "  Mercury;  or,  the  secret  and  swift  Mes- 
senger ;  shewing  how  a  man  may  with  privacy  and  speed 
communicate  his  thoughts  to  a  friend  at  any  distance,"  in 
Svo.  His  fourth,  in  1648,  "  Mathematical  Magic;  or,  the 
Wonders  that  may  be  performed  by  Mechanical  Geometry," 
in  Svo.  All  these  pieces  were  published  entire  in  one  vo- 
lume, 8vo,  in  1708,  under  Jthe  title  of  "The  Mathematical 
aad  Philosophical  Works  of  the  Right  reverend  John  WiU 
kins,"  &c.  with  a  print  of  die  author  and  general  title-page 
handsomely  engraven,  and  an  account  of  his  life  and  writ* 
iogs.  To  this  collection  is  also  subjoined  an  abstract  of  a 
larger  work,  printed  in  1668,  folio,  and  entitled  "  An  -Essay 
towards  a  real  Character  and  a  philosophical  Language." 
This  be  persuaded  Ray  to  translate  into  Latin,  which  he 
did,  but  k  never  was  published  ;  and  the  MS.  is  now  in 
the  library  of  the  Royal  Society.  These  are  his  mathema- 
tical and  philosophical  works.  He  was  also  the  inventor  of 
the  Perambulator,  orx  Measuring  wheel.  His  theological 
works  are,  1.  "  Ecclesiastes ;  or,  a  Discourse  of  the  Gift  of 
Preaching,  as  it  falls  under  the  rules  of  Art,"  1646.  This 
no  doubt  was  written  with  a  view  to  reform  the  prevailing 
taste  of  the  times  he  lived  in ;  from  which  no  man  was  ever 
farther  than  Wilkins.  It  has  gone  through  nine  editions, 
the  last  in  1718,  8vo.  2.  "  Discourse  concerning  the 
heauty  of  Providence,  in  ail  the  rugged  passages  of  it," 
1649.  3.  ".Discourse  concerning  the  Gift  of  Prayer,  shew* 
ing  what  it  is,  wherein  it  consists,  and  how  far  it  is  attain- 
able by  industry,"  &c.  1653.  This  was  against  enthusiasm 
and  fanatfcism.  These  were  published  in  his  life-time; 
after  his  death,  in  1675,  Tillotson  published  two  other  of 
bis  works.     4.  "  Sermons  preached  on  several  occasion?;" 

Vol.  XXXIL  G 


St  W  I  L  K  !  N  S. 

and,  5.  "  Of  the  principles  and  duties  of  Natural  Religion,** 
both  in  8vo.  Tillotson  tells  us,  'in  the  preface  to  the  latter, 
that 4I  the  first  twelve  chapters  were  written  out  for  the 
press  in  his  life-time;  and  that  the  remainder  hath  beenr 
gathered  and  made  up  out  of  his  papers."1 

WILKINSON  (Henry),  one  of  four  divines  of  the  name 
of  Wilkinson,  who  made  considerable  noise  at  Oxford 
during  the  usurpation,  was  born  in  the  vicarage  of  Halifax 
in  Yorkshire,  Oct.  9,  1566,  and  came  to  Oxford  in  1581, 
where  he  was  elected  a  probationer  fellow  of  Merton  col- 
lege, by  the  interest  of  his  relation  Mr.  afterwards  sir 
Henry  Savile,  the  warden.  In  1586  he  proceeded  in  arts, 
and  studying  divinity,  took  bis  bachelor's  degree  in  that 
faculty.  In  1601  he  was  preferred  to  the  living  of  Wad- 
desdoo  in  Buckinghamshire,  which  he  held  for  forty-six 
years.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  learning  and  piety, 
and  being  an  old  puritan,  Wood  says,  he  was  elected  one 
of  the  assembly  of  divines  in  1643.  He  was  the  author  of 
"  A  Catechism  for  the  use  of  the  congregation  of  Waddes- 
don,"  8vo,  of  which  there  was  a  fourth  edition  in  1647. 
He  published  also  "  The  Debt-Book  ;  or  a  treatise  upon 
Romans  xiii.  8.  wherein  is  handled  the  civil  debt  of  money 
or  goods/'  Lond.  1625,  8vo ;  and  other  things,  the  names 
of  which  Wood  has  not  mentioned.  He  died  at  Waddes- 
don  March  19,  1647,  aged  eighty-one,  and  was  buried  in 
bis  own  church,  with  a  monumental  inscription.  By  his 
wife  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Arthur  Wake,  another 
puritan,  he  had  six  sons  and  three  daughters.  One  of  bis 
sons,  Edward,  was  born  in  1607,  and  educated  at  Magda- 
len-hall, Oxford,  which  he  entered  when  little  more  than 
eleven  years  old,  and  completed  his  degrees  in  arts  at  the 
age  of  eighteen.  He  must  have  been  of  extraordinary 
parts,  or  extraordinary  interest,  for  in  1627,  when  only 
twenty,  he  was  chosen  professor  of  rhetoric  in  Gresham 
college.  All  that  Ward  has  been  abfe  to  discover  of  him, 
is,  that  he  held  this  office  upwards  of  eleven  years,  and 
resigned  it  in  1638.  Another  of  the  rector  of  Waddesdon's 
sons,  a  more  distinguished  character,  is  the  subject  of  our 
next  article." 

WILKINSON  (HfiNRY),  one  of  the  sons  of  the  pre- 
ceding, and  called  Long  Haury,  to  distinguish  him  from 

*  Biog.  Brit — Ath.  Ox.  vol.  If.— Burnet's  Own  Times.— Birch's  Life  of  TiU 
ToUon,  &<\ 

*  Ath.  Ok.  toI.  II.— Watson's  Jblifax. 


WILKINSON.  83 

a  contemporary  and  cousin  of  the  same  names*  who  was 
called  Bean  Harry,  was  born  at  Waddesdon  in  1609,  and 
in  1622  became  a  commoner  of  Magdalen-hall*  where, 
making  great  proficiency  in  his  studies,  he  took  the  degrees 
in  arts,  became  a  noted  tutor,  master  of  the  schools,  and 
divinity  reader  in  his  hall.  In  1633,  he  was  admitted  B.  D. 
aud  preached  frequently  in  and  near  Oxford,  "  not,"  says 
Wood,  "  without  girds  against  the  actions,  and  certain 
men  of  the  times/'  by  which  we  are  to  understand  that  he 
belonged  to  that  growing  party  which  was  hostile  to  the 
ecclesiastical  establishment.  Of  this  he  gave  so  decided  a 
proof  in  a  sermon  preached  at  St.  Mary's  in  Sept.  1G40,  in 
which  he  inveighed  against  the  ceremonies,  &c.  that  he  was 
ordered  to  recant,  and  a  form  drawn  up  accordingly.  But 
as  he  peremptorily  refused  to  sign  this,  well  knowing  that 
the  power  of  the  church  was  undermined,  he  was  sus-> 
pended  from  preaching,  &c.  within  the  university  and  its 
precincts,  according  to  the  statute.  Immediately*  how- 
ever, on  the  meeting  of  the  Long  parliament,  he  complain- 
ed to  the  House  of  Commons  of  the  treatment  he  had  met 
with  from  the  vice  chancellor:  and  the  committee  of  reli- 
gion not  only  took  off  his  suspension,  but  ordered  his  ser-  , 
nion  to  be  printed,  as  suiting  their  views. 

With  this  encouragement  Wilkinson  went  on  preaching 
what  he  pleased  without  fear,  but  removed  to  London,  as 
the  better  scene  of  action,  where  he  was  made  minister  of 
St.  Faith's,  under  St.  Paul's^  and  one  of  the  assembly  of 
divines.  He  was  also  a  frequent  preacher  before  the  par- 
liament on  their  monthly  fasts,  or  on  thanksgiving  days.  In 
1645  he  was  promoted  to  the  rectory  of  St.  Dunstan's  in 
the  West*.  Soon  after  he  was  constituted  one  of  the  six 
ministers  appointed  to  go  to  Oxford  (then  in  the  power  of 
parliament),  and  to  establish  preachings  and  lectures  upon 
presbyterian  principles  and  forms.  He  was  also  made  one 
of  the  visitors  for  the  ejection  of  all  heads  of  houses,  fel- 
lows, students,  &c,  who  refused  compliance  with  the  now 
predominant  party.  For  these  services  he  was  made  a 
.senior  fellow  of  Magdalen  college  (which,  Wood  says,  he 
kept  till  h£  married  a  holy  woman  called  the  Lady  Carr), 
a  canon  of  Christ  church,  doctor  of  divinity,  and,  after 
Chey net's  departure,  Margaret  professor.  Of  all  this  he 
was  deprived  at  the'restoration,  but  occasionally  preached 

*  Catamy  says,  St.  Dunstan's  in  the  E*st. 

Q   2 


84    •  WILKINSON. 

in  or  about  London,  as  opportunity  offered,  particularly 
at  Clapham,  where  he  died  in  September  1675,  and  his 
body,  after  lying  in  state  in  Drapers9  hall,  London,  was 
buried  with  great  solemnity  in  the  church  of  St.  Dunstan's. 
His  pVinted  works  are  entirely  "  Sermons"  preached  before 
the  parliament,  or  in  the  "Morning  Exercise11  at  Cripple- 
gate  and  Southwark,  and  seem  to  confirm  part  of  the  cha- 
racter Wood  gives  of  him,  that  "  he  was  a  good  scholar, 
always  a  close  student,  an  excellent  preacher  (though  his 
voice  fras  shrill  and  whining),11  yet,  adds  Wood,  "  his  ser- 
mons were  commonly  full  of  dire  and  confusion,  especially 
while  the  rebellion  lasted.1' ' 

WILKINSON  (Henry),  denominated  sometimes  Ju- 
nior, but  commonly  called  Dean  Harry,  to  distinguish 
him  from  the  preceding,  was  the  son  of  the  rev.  William 
Wilkinson  of  Adwick,  or  Adwickstreet,  in  the  West  Riding 
of  Yorkshire,  the  brother  of  the  first  Henry  Wilkinson, 
rector  of  Waddesdon  ;  and  consequently  cousin  to  the  pre- 
ceding Long  Harry.  He  was  born  at  Adwick  in  1616,  and 
was  educated  in  grammar  at  a  school  in  All  Saints  parish* 
Oxford.  He  entered  a  commoner  of  Magdalen-hall  in 
1631,  took  the  degrees  in  arts,  was  admitted  into  holy 
orders,  and  became  a  noted  tutor,  and  moderator  or  dean 
of  Magdalen-hall.  Being  of  the  same  principles  with  his 
relations,  he  quitted  the  university  in  1642,  and  going  to 
London,  took  the  covenant,  and  became  a  frequent 
preacher.  On  the  surrender  of  Oxford  to  the  parliamen- 
tary forces,  he  returned  thither,  and  was  created  bachelor 
of  divinity,  and  made  principal  of  his  hall,  and  moral  phi- 
losophy reader  of  the  university.  He  also  took  the  degree 
of  D.  D.  and  became  a  frequent  preacher  at  the  different 
churches  in  Oxford.  As  the  governor  of  a  society,  Wood 
speaks  of  him  very  highly,  and  his  character  indeed  in  this 
Vespect  was  so  welt  established,  that  he  might  have  re- 
mained principal,  if  he  could  have  conformed.  He  suffered 
considerably  afterwards  for  nonconformity,  while  endea- 
vouring to  preach  at  Buckminster  in  Leicestershire,  Gos- 
field  in  Essex,  Sible-Headingham,  and  finally  at  Connard 
near  Sudbury  in  Suffolk,  where  he  died  May  13,  1690.  He 
was  buriec)  at  Milding  near  Lavenham,  in  Suffolk.  Wood 
says  "  he  was  a  zealous  person  in  the  way  he  professed, 
but  overswayed  more  by  the  principles  "of  education  than 

i  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  H.— Calamjr. 


I 


I 


W  I  LK  I  N  S  O  N.  85 

jea$on.  He  was  very  courteous  in  speech  and  carriage, 
communicative  of  his  knowledge,  generous  and  charitable 
to  the  poor;  and  so  public-spirited  (a  rare  thing,  adds 
Wood,  in  a  presbyterian),  that  he  always  minded  the  com- 
mon good,  more  than  his  own  concerns.1'  He  was  a  con- 
siderable benefactor  to  Magdalen- ball,  having  built  the 
library,  and  procured  a  good  collection  of  books  for  it. 

He  published,  in  Latin,  various  "Condones,"  and  "Ora- 
tiones,"  delivered  at  Oxford  on  public  occasions ;  and  se- 
veral English  sermons,  besides  the  following,  I.  "  Catalo- 
gs librorum  in  Bibl.  Aul.  Magi.  Oxon."  Oxford,  1661, 
^8vq.'  2.  "  The  doctrine  of  contentment  briefly  explained, 
&c.9'  Lond.  1671,  8vo^  3.  "  Characters  of  a  sincere  heart, 
and  the  comforts  thereof,*'  ibid.  1674,  8vo.  4.  "Two 
Treatises  concerning  God's  All- Sufficiency,  &c."  ibid. 
1681,  8vo.  In  this  last  work  we  find  a  singular  aneedote, 
which  he  says  was  communicated  to  him  by  archbishop 
Usher,  with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted.  Our  readers 
probably  know  tbat  the  Marian  persecution  nerer  reached 
Ireland,  and  if  the  following  be  true,  the  Irish  protestants 
h?d  a  very  narrow  escape  from  that  tyranny.  "  A  com- 
mission dc  Hareticis  comburendis  (For  burning  of  heretics) 
was  sent  to  Ireland  from  queen  Mary,  by  a  certain  doctor, 
who,  at  his  lodgings  at  Chester,  made  his  boast  of  it.  One 
of  the  servants  in  the  inn,  being  a  well-wisher  to  protes- 
tants, took  notice  of  the  words,  and  found  out  a  method  to 
get  away  the  commission,  which  he  kept  in  his  own  hands. 
WheiKthe  commissioner  came  to  Ireland,  he  was  enter- 
tained with  great  respect.  After  some  time  he  appeared 
before  the  lords  of  the  council,  and  then  opened  his  box 
to  shew  his  commission,  but  there  was  nothing  in  it  but  a 
pack  of  cards.  On  this  he  was  committed  to  prison  and 
threatened  exceedingly  ;  but  upon  giving  security  he  was 
released,  returned  to  England,  and  obtained  a  new  com- 
mission ;  as  soon,  however,  as  he  came  to  Chester,  the  re- 
♦  port  arrived  of  queen  Mary's  death,  which  stopt  his  farther 
journey  V1 

WILKINSON  (John),  brother  of  the  rector  of  Wad- 
desdon,  first-mentioned,  and  uncle  to  the  two  Henrys,  was 
born  in  Halifax,  and  educated  at  Oxford,  where  he  was 
very  celebrated.  He  became  fellow  of  Magdalen  college, 
and  in  1605,  when  Henry,  prince  of  Wales,  was  matricu- 

1  Ath,  Ox.  vol.  II,— Calamr. 


*6  WILKINSON. 

lated  of  Magdalen  college,  Mr.  Wilkinson,  then  B.  D.  was 
appointed  his  tutor,  as  high  a  mark  of  respect  as  could  well 
be  paid,  and  a  striking  proof  of  the  respect  in  which  he 
was  then  held.  In  the  same  year  Mr.  Wilkinson  was  made 
principal  of  Magdalen-hall;  and  Wood  says,  that  under  his 
government,  in  1624,  and  before,  there  were  three  hun- 
dred students  in  the  hall,  of  which  number  were  forty  or 
more  masters  of  arts,  but,  Wood  adds,  *'all  mostly  inclin- 
ing to  Calvinism.1*  On  the  commencement  of  the  rebel- 
lion, being  of  the  same  sentiments  as  his  relations  before- 
mentioned,  he  left  Oxford  in  1643,  and  joined  the  parlia- 
mentary party.  After  the  surrender  of  the  city  of  Oxford 
to  the  parliamentary  forces  in  1646,  he  returned  to  Mag- 
dalen-hall, and  resumed  his  office  as  principal  until  1648, 
when  he  resigned  it  on  being  advanced  to  be  president  of 
Magdalen-college.  He  hacl  the  year  before  been  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  visitors  of  the  university.  He  did  not, 
however,  live  long  to  enjoy  any  of  these  honours,  for  he 
died  Jan.  2,  1649,  and  was  interred  in  the  church  of  Great 
Milton  in  Oxfordshire.  It  does  not  appear  that  Dr.  John 
Wilkinson  published  any  thing;  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
he  spent  as  the  governor  of  the  two  societies  of  Magdalen- 
hall  and  Magdalen-college.  Notwithstanding  his  reputa- 
tion in  his  early  years,  Wood  gives  him  the  character  of 
being  ?*  generally  accounted  an  illiterate,  testy,  old  crea- 
ture, one  that  for  forty  years  together  had  been  the  sport 
of  the  boys,  and  constantly  yoked  with  Dr.  Kettle  :  a  per- 
son of  more  beard  than  learning,  &c."  It  is  unnecessary  to 
copy  more  of  this  character,  which  agrees  so  ill  with  what 
Wood  says  of  him  in  his  account  of  Magdalen-hall,  that 
we  are  almost  inclined  to  think  he  is  speaking  of  another 
person.  There  is  much  confusion  in  some  of  the  accounts 
given  of  these  Wilkinsons,  and  we  are  not  quite  sure  that 
we  have  been  enabled  to  dispell  it ;  but  Wood  so  expressly 
mentions  a  John  Wilkinson  Magdalen-hall,  as  one  of  the 
visitors  of  Oxford,  and  afterwards  a  physician,  that  we 
suspect  he  has  mixed  the  characters  of  the  two.  On  this, 
account  the  story  of  Dr.  John  Wilkinson  having  robbed  the 
college  of  some  money,  which  is  related  by  Fuller  and 
Heylin,  must  remain  doubtful,  for  Wood  attributes  it  to 
Henry  Wilkinson,  the  vice-president.^ 

1  A\b.  Ox.  vol?.  I  and  II.— -Wood's  Annals  and  History  of  Oxford. — Ward's 
Lives  of  the  Gresham  profesiorb.— fuller'!  Ch.  flirt. 


W  I  L  L  A  N.  87 

WILLAN  (Robert),  a  learned  physician,  was  born  No- 
vember 12,  1757,  at  the  Hill,  near  Sedbergh  in  York- 
shire, whei£  his  father  resided,  in  the  enjoyment  of  exten- 
sive medical  reputation  and  practice  *.  He  *vas  educated 
in  the  principles  of  the  Quakers,  and  received  his  scholas- 
tic tuition  exclusively  at  Sedbergh,  at  the  grammar-school 
of  that  place,  under  the  care  of  the  reverend  Dr.  Batcman, 
and  the  celebrated  Mr.  Dawson.  The,  medical  profession 
had  long  been  determined  upon  as  the  object  of  bis  future 
pursuit,  and  be  commenced  his  studies  in  that  science  at 

i  Edinburgh,  in  the  autumn  of  1777.     After  the  usual  resi- 

dence of  three  \Tears  in  that  university,  he  received  the  de- 
gree of  doctor  in  1780,  when  he  published  an  inaugural 
dissertation,  "  De  Jecinoris  Inftammatioue." 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  he  repaired  to  the  me- 
tropolis with  the  view  of  obtaining  farther  medical  informa- 
tion, and  attended  lectures  with  great  assiduity.  An  ar- 
rangement had  been  made  some  time  previously  with  Dr. 
Trotter,  a  relative,  and  a  physician  of  some  eminence  at 
Darlington,,  in  the  .county  of  Durham,  but  advanced  in  life, 
in  consequence  of  which  he  intended  to  decline  practice  in 

I  that  place  in  favour  of  his  young  friend,  as  soon  as  he  had 

completed  his  studies.  When  in  London,  Dr.  Willan  was 
introduced  to  Dr.  Fothergill,  who,  from  a  just  estimate  of 
his  talents  and  acquirements,  recommended  hitn  to  try  his 
fortune  in  the  metropolis,  and  offered  him  his  assistance. 
Dr.  Fothergill,  however,  died  in  the  month  of  December, 
in  that  year ;  and  in  the  commencement  of  the  following 
year,  1781,  the  death  of  Dr.  Trotter  alsb  occurred  ;  upon 
which  Dr.  Willan  immediately  went  to  Darlington,  where 
he  remained  about  a  year;  during  which  period  he  ana* 
lyaed  the  sulphureous  water  at  Croft,  a  village  about  four 
miles  from  that  place,  and  wrote  a  small  treatise  respect- 
ing its  chemical  and  medicinal  qualities,  containing  also  a 
comparison  of  its  properties  with  those  of  the  Harrogate 
waters.  This  tract  was  published  in  1782,  with  the  title 
of  "  Observations  on  the  Sulphur  water  at  Croft,  near 
Darlington  ;"  and  a  second  edition  was  printed  a  few  years 
afterwards. 

In  the  beginning  of  1782,  not  succeeding  in  practice  at 
Darlington.,  Drf  Willbn  determined  to  return  to  London, 

*  Dr.  Robert  Willan,  senior,  gra-  Qualitatibus  Aeris."  The  Hill  is  now 
doated  at  Edinburgh  in  1*45,  and  the  residence  of  his  eldest  son,  Riejiani 
pnbfished  an*  i  nan  jural  thesis,  "Da     Willan,  esq.  ', 


88  W  I  L  L  A  N. 

where  the  Public  Dispensary,  in  Carey-street,  being  opened 
in  the  commencement  of  1783,  chiefly  accomplished  by 
the  exertions  of  some  of  his  friends,  he  was  appointed  sole 
physician  to  it ;  and  under  his  humane  and  active  superin- 
tendence, together  with  that  of  his  able  and  benevolent 
colleague,  Mr.  John  Pearson,  the  surgeon  to  the  institu- 
tion, the  new  Dispensary  speedily  flourished,  and  became 
one  of  the  most  extensive  and  respectable  establishments 
of  its  kind  in  London.  In  March  1785,  having  passed  bis 
examinations  before  the  College  of  Physicians  with  great 
credit,  he  was  admitted  a  licentiate  of  that  body;  on  which 
occasion  he  addressed  some  congratulatory  Greek  verses  to 
the  board  of  censors. 

About  1786  he  engaged  in  the  office  of  teacher,  and 
delivered  lectures  ou  the  principles  and  practice  of  medi- 
cine at  the  Public  Dispensary.  But  bis  success,  we  be* 
lieve,  in  this  undertaking,  was  inconsiderable.  At  a  sub- 
sequent period  he  received,  as  pupils  at  the  Dispensary, 
young  physicians  who  had  recently  graduated,  and  who 
were  initiated  into  actual  practice,  under  his  superintend* 
ence,  among  the  patients  of  the  institution;  a  mode  of 
tuition  from  which  they  derived  much  practical  knowledge, 
and  were  gradually  habituated  to  the  responsibility  of  their 
professional  duties.  Upwards  of  forty  physicians,  almost 
all  of  whom  have  subsequently  attained  professional  repu- 
tation, or  now  occupy  responsible  situations,  both  in  this 
country  and  abroad,  have  received  the  benefit  of  this  in- 
struction. 

From  the  moment  when  Dr.  Willan  settled  in  London, 
he  pursued  his  professional  avocations  with  an  indefati- 
gable industry  and  attention,  of  which  there  are,  perhaps,  few 
examples.  He  never  quitted  the  metropolis  for  any  con- 
sideration of  health  or  pleasure,  during  a  period  of  thirty 
years.  For  many  years  he  conducted  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  two  dispensaries,  (having  subsequently  been  fa- 
voured with  an  appointment  to  the  Finsbury  Dispensary, 
in  addition  to  that  of  Carey-street),  during  which  his  un- 
remitting attention  to  the  progress  of  the  diseases  which 
came  under  his  care,  is  evinced  by  the  prodigious  collec- 
tion of  cases,  which  he  has  recorded  in  MS.  mostly  in  q, 
neat  Latin  style,  in  which  be  wrote  with  great  fluency^ 
During  the  whole  of  his  career,  he  was  not  less  assiduously 
employed  in  examining  the  records  of  medicine,  both  an- 
cient and  modern,  th^n  in  the  actual  observation  of  dis* 


W  I  L  L  AW.  8ft 

eases ;  of  which  the  learning  and  critical  acumen  displayed 
in  his  publications,  as  well  as  the  mass  of  manuscript  cot- 
lections  which  he  has  left  behind,  afford  abundant  proof. 
His  habits  of  domestic  privacy  enabled  him  to  dedicate  a 
large  portion  of  time  to  these  researches ;  and  indeed  to 
the  unabating  ardour  with  which  he  applied  himself  to 
them,  must  be  attributed  Chat  premature  injury  of  his 
health,  which  shortened  the  period  of  his  life. 

Dr.  Willan's  advance  to  public  reputation,  and  to  the 
consequent  emoluments  of  the  profession,  was  regularly 
|  progressive,  though  slow ;  and  his  publications,  especially 

|  bis  treatise  on   the  diseases  of  the  skin,  upon  which  bis 

|  posthumous  reputation  will  principally  rest,  finally  placed 

his  professional  character  upon  high  ground.  In  the  spring 
of  1791,  be  had  the  honeur  of  being  chosen  a  fellow  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries.  He  had  been  early  attached  to 
antiquarian  researches,  and  in  his  juvenile  days  had,  with 
considerable  industry  and  accuracy,  collected  from  the 
Odyssey  a  history  of  the  manners  of  the  primeval  times  of 
Greece.  Latterly  he  communicated  some  papers  to  this 
,  society, 'of  which,  however,  he   declined   the  honour  of 

f  publication  ;  particularly,  a  collection  of  provincial  words, 

and  an  elaborate  essay  on  the  practice  of  "  Lustration  by 
Need-fire,"  (scarcely  extinct  in  some  of  the  norther* 
counties,)  which  led  him  into  a  curious  and  extensive  re- 
search, respecting  similar  practices  in  ancient  times,  and 
the  mythological  superstitions  connected  with  them.  It 
was  not  until  the  month  of  February  1809,  that  he  was 
elected  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society. 

The  increase  of  his  professional  avocations,  which  had 
compelled  him  some  time  before  to  resign  his  office  in  the 
Finsbory  Dispensary,  led  him,  in  1800,  to  wish  to  lessen 
the  fatigue  of  his  duties  at  the  Public  Dispensary ;  and 
accordingly  his  friend  and  pupil,*  Dr.  T.  A.  Murray,  was 
appointed  his  colleague  in  that  year.  This  active  and 
intelligent  physician,  through  whose  exertions,  aided  by 
the  society  for  bettering  the  condition  of  the  poor,  the 
Fever  institution  of  the  metropolis  was  established,  was  un- 
fortunately cut  off  in  February  1802,  by  the  contagion  of 
fever,  caught  in  the  infected  apartments  of  the  first  p»»» 
tients  who  were  admitted  into  the  institution.  Dr.  Willan, 
who  had  strenuously  recommended  this  establishment,  was 
Dominated  one  of  its  physicians  extraordinary.  In  Decern.- 
J>er  1 803,  finding  his  private  practice  incompatible  with  a 


•0  W.I  L  L  A  N. 

proper  attention  to  the  concerns  of  the  Dispensary,  whick 
he  had  now  superintended  for  the  space  of  nearly  twenty- 
one  years,  he  resigned  his  office.  The  governors  of  the 
charity,  in  testimony  of  their  gratitude  for  his  services  and 
esteem  for  his  character,  nominated  him  consulting  phy- 
sician, and  made  him  a  governor  for  life,  and  likewise  pre* 
sented  him  with  a  piece  of  plate,  of  the  value  of  fifty 
guineas,  inscribed  with  a  testimonial  of  their  attachment 
and  respect*. 

For  several  years  previous  to  bis  resignation,  Dr.  Willan's 
fame  and  character  had  been  fully  established,  and  the 
emoluments  derived  from  his  practice  very  ample.  He  had 
during  the  preceding  course  of  years,  resided  successively 
in  Ely-place,  Holborn,  and  in  Red  Lion-square,  in  con- 
nection with  the  family  before-mentioned ;  and  lastly,  on 
his  marriage  in  the  spring  of  1801,  he  settled  in  Blooms- 
bury-square.  He  was  now  not  only  generally  consulted, 
especially  by  persons  labouring  under  cutaneous  diseases, 
but  was  also  deferred  to  on  all  occasions  by  his  professional 
brethren,  as  the  ultimate  appeal  on  these  subjects :  for, 
Jhowever  generally  skilled  in  every  other  department  of 
medical  practice,  his  reputation  for  peculiar  knowledge  on 
this  point  had  certainly  excluded  him,  in  some  measure^ 
from  that  universal  occupation  in  his  profession,  to  which 
he  was  so  well  entitled. 

From  his  childhood  Dr.  Willan  had  been  of  a  delicate 
constitution ;  his  complexion  in  early  life  being  pale  and 
feminine,  and  his  form  slender.  His  extremely  regular 
and  temperate  mode  of  life,  however,  had  procured  him 
an  uninterrupted  share  of  moderate  health,  and  latterly 
(even  a  certain  degree  of  corpulency  of  person,  though 
without  the  appearance  of  robust  strength.  In  the  Winter 
of  1 3 10,  some  of  his  fKends  had  remarked  a  slight  shrink- 
ing of  bulk  and  change  in  his  complexion;  but  it  was  not 
till  the  following  spring  that  symptoms  of  actual  disease 
manifested  themselves,  and  increased  rapidly.  With  a 
view  to  obtain  some  respite  from  professional  fatigue,  as 
well  as  the  advantage  of  a  better  air,  he  took  a  house  in 

*  This  inscription  was   written  by  egenorum  civium  sanandis,  vigiuti  an- 

the  late  learned,  and  revere  ml  Dr.  Mat-  nos  amplius  gratuito  et  strenue  nava- 

thew  Raine,  one  of  the  governors  of  tarn,   egrotantum  apud  Londinemes 

the  Dispensary,  and  was  as  follows,  pauperum  Patroni,  amico  amici,  L.  L.-. 

*' Viro  integerrimo,  art  is  »cientia?que  D.  D.  D.  A.  O.    1804,  Preside  Com  it  e 

wee  peritissimo,  Roberto  Willan,  M.  D.  Sandvicense,  collate  pecuniae  Custode- 

•b    fejicisiimam   operam,   in    mortis  Gnltelmo  Waddington." 


•  W  I  L  L  A  N,  91 

June  1811  at  Craven- hill,  about  a  mile  from  town,  an  tbe 
Ux bridge- road,  where  he  spent  his  time,  with  the  excep* 
lion  of  two  or  three  hours  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  when 
he  went  to  Bloomsbnry-square,  to  receive  the  patients  who 
came  thither  to  consult  him ;  but  the  probability  of  becom- 
ing phthisical,  under  the  influence  of  an  English  winter, 
induced  him  to  accede  to  the  strenuous  recommendation  of 
some  of  his  friends,  and  to  undertake  a  voyage  to  Ma- 
deira. He  accordingly  embarked  on  the  10th  of  October, 
and  arrived  at  Madeira  on  the  1st  of  December.  By  per- 
severance in  an  active  course  of  medicine,  after  his  arrival 
at  Funehall,  nil  his  bad  symptoms  were  considerably  alle- 
viated ;  insomuch  that,  in  the  month  of  February,  he  me- 
ditated a  return  to  the  south  of  England  in  April.  But  this 
alleviation  was  only  temporary :  his  disease  was  again  ag- 
gravated ;  the  dropsy,  and  its  concomitant  obstruction 
to  the  functions,  increased ;  and  with  his  faculties  remain* 
ing  entire  to  the  last,  he  expired  on  April  7,  1812,  in  the 
fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

By  the  death  of  Dr.  Willan  the  profession  was  deprived 
!  of  one  of  its  bright  ornaments,  and  of  its  zealous  and  able 

^  improvers;  the  sick,  of  a  humane,  disinterested,  and  dis- 

cerning physician  ;  and  the  world  of  an  estimable  and  up- 
right man,  while  in  all  the  relations  of  domestic  life,  in- 
deed,   he  was  an  object  of  general  esteem  and  attach- 
ment. 
!  As  a  professional  writer,  Dr.  Willan  appeared  early,  in 

his  contributions  to  the  periodical  works.  On  his  arrival 
in.  London,  he  became  a  member  of  a  private  medical  so- 
ciety, which  held  its  meetings  at  a  coffee-house,  in  Cecil- 
street,  and  which  published  two  volumes  of  papers,  under 
the  title  of  "  Medical  Communications,"  in  1784  ^and 
1790.  In  tbe  second  of  these  volumes  be  published  the 
history  of  "A  remarkable  case  of  Abstinence,"  in  a  hypo- 
chondriacal yotiog  man,  which  was  uninterrupted  for  the 
space  of  sixty-one  days,  and  terminated  fatally.  We  be- 
lieve that  this  was  the  only  medical  society  of  which  he  was 
ever  a  member.  Several  communications  from  him  were 
also  printed  in  the  London  Medicaljournal,  edited  between 
the  years  1781  and  1790  by  Dr.  Simmons.  In  the  fourth 
volume,  p.  421,  a  short  letter  of  his  appears,  stating  the 
character  of  a  non-descript  Byssus,  found  in  the  sulphu- 
reous waters  of  Aix ;  and  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  same 
Journal,  he  relates  a  fatal  case  of  obstruction  in  the  bowels, 


(  §3  WILLAN. 

to  which  last  he  appended  seme  useful  reflections  on  the 
diagnostic  symptoms  of  these  obstructions,  as  occurring  in 
the  large  or  in  the  small  intestines.  He  has  also  some  com- 
munications in  the  seventh  and  eighth  volumes^  After 
the  publication  of  the  eleventh  volume  of  this  Journal,  Dr. 
Simmons  commenced  a  new  series,  under  the  title  of 
u  Medical  Facts  and  Observations ;"  in  the  third  volume 
of  which  a  paper  of  Dr.  Willan's  appeared,  containing 
a  description  of  several  cases  of  iscuria  renaiis  in  chil- 
dren. 

In  the  year  1796,  Dr.  Willan  commenced  a  series  of 
monthly  reports,  after  the  manner  of  those  which  Dr.  Fo- 
thergili  had  formerly  given  to  the  publick  *,  containing  a 
brief  accouut  of  the  state  of  the  weather,  and  of  the  pre* 
valent  diseases  in  the  metropolis.  These  reports  were  pub- 
lished in  the  "  Monthly  Magazine,"  and  were  continued 
to  1800,  when  he  collected  them  into  a  small  volume,  and 
published  them  in  1801,  under  the  title  of  "  Reports  on 
the  Diseases  in  London."  This  little  work  is  pregnant 
with  important  and  original  medical  observations;  but, 
from  its  unassuming  pretensions,  and  desultory  arrange- 
ment, has  not  been  sufficiently  known  and  valued  by  the 
profession. 

We  are  unacquainted  with  the  circumstances  whieh  ori- 
ginally drew  the  attention  of  Dr.  Willan  to  the  subject  of 
cutaneous  diseases;  but  he  was  led  so  early  as  1784  and 
1785,  to  attend  to  the  elementary  forms  of  eruptions,  if  we 
may  so  speak,  upon  which  he  saw  that  a  definite  nomen- 
clature could  alone  be  founded,  and  upon  which  he  erected 
the  ingenious  system  developed  in  his  large  work.  At  that 
period,  in  his  notes  of  cases,  he  has  seldom  designated 
eruptions  by  their  ordinary  names ;  but  speaks  of  papulae 
scorbutica?,  eruptio  papulosa,  &c.  In  1786,  his  notes  ex- 
hibit still  more  decisive  proofs  of  the  careful  attention 
which  he  was  directing  to  this  subject,  in  the  minute  de- 
scriptions (accompanied  by  slight  sketches  with  the  pen), 
of  the  forms,  magnitude,  and  progress  of  eruptions.  The 
zeal  with  which  he  was  at  the  same  time  investigating  the 
original  acceptation  of  the  Greek,  Roman,  and  Arabian 
terms,  applied  to  eruptive  diseases,  is  likewise  manifested 
by  his  copious  collections  from  authors,  and  by  the  occa- 
sional alterations   of    the   nomenclature,    applied   in   the 

*  In  tht  Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  XX.  et  seq. 


W  I  L  L  A  N.  03 

cases,  before  he  had  finally  determined  on  his  arrange* 
menu  This  was  probably  decided  about  1789;  as  in  the 
following  year  his  classification  was  laid  before  the  Medi* 
cal  Society  of  London,  and  honoured  by  the  assignment 
of  the  Fothergillian  gold  medal  of  that  year  to  the  author* 

It  was. not  till  the  beginning  of  1 798,  that  the  first  part 
of  this  work,  including  the  papulous  eruptions,  was  pub- 
lished, in  which,  as  in  the  subsequent  parts,  each  variety 
was  represented  by  a  coloured  engraving.  In  1801  the 
second  part*  including  the  scaly  diseases  of  the  akin,  ap- 
peared  ;  in  1805  the  third  part,  comprising  only  two  ge- 
nera of  rashes,  viz.  measles  and  scarlet-fever ;  and  in  1808 
the  fourth  part,  comprehending  the  remainder  of  the  rashes, 
and  the  bullae,  or  large  vesications ;  the  whole  containing 
thirty-three  plates,  and  comprising  about  half  of  the  clas- 
sification* Four  orders,  characterized  by  the  appearance 
of  pustules,  vesicles,  tubercles,  and  spots,  remain  unpub- 
lished. In  the  interim,  however, .  from  the  temporary  in- 
terest which  the  investigation  of  the  vaccine  question  ex- 
cited, Dr.  Willan  was  induced  so  far  to  anticipate  the  order 
of  vesicles,  as  to  publish  in  1806  a  treatise  "  Ou  Vaccina- 
tion ;"  in  which  he  also  introduced  the  subject  of  chicken- 
pox  (another  vesicular  disease)  in  consequence  of  the  mis- 
takes which  had  been  committed,  in  supposing  that  this  was 
small -pox,  when  it  occurred  after  vaccination. 

In  addition  to  the  writings  above  mentioned,  which  have 
been  committed  to  the  press,  Dr.  Willan  had  left  some 
others  in  an  unfinished  state.  During  three  or  four  years 
previous  to  his  death  he  bad  employed  his  leisure  in  a 
most  extensive  investigation  of  the  antiquities  of  medicine, 
if  we  may  so  express  ourselves,  which  he  had  conducted 
with  his  usual  felicity  of  execution,  His  principal  object 
was  the  illustration  of  four  subjects,  which  are  enveloped  in 
no  small  degree  of  obscurity ;  namely,  1.  The  nature  and 
origin  of  the  epidemic  or  endemic  ignis  sacer,  which  was 
a  frequent  cause  of  much  mortality  in  ancient  times,  and 
in  the  middle  ages,  and  has  been  confounded  with  the 
plague,  to  which  it  had  no  resemblance  but  in  its  fatality  : 
2.  The  evidence  of  the  prevalence  of  small-pox,  measles, 
and  scarlet  fever,  not  only  in  tbe  first  ages  of  the  Christian 
sera,  but  at  still  more  ancient  periods,  of  which  he  has 
brought  together,  with  great  ingenuity,  a  collection  that 
appears  incontrovertibly  to  establish  the  affirmative  of  tbe 
question  :    3.  The  history  of  the  leprosy  of  the  middle 


$4  W  I  L  L  A  N. 

ages:  and  4.  That  of  the  lues  venerea.  The  dissertations 
relative  to  the  two  first  mentioned  topics,  Dr.  Willan  bad 
nearly  completed,  hating  re-modelled  the  second,  by  the* 
aid  of  a  friendly  amanuensis,  during  bis  residence  in  Ma- 
deira. They  contain  a  very  able  and  original  view  of  the 
state  of  disease  in  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  not  founded 
upon  any  fanciful  explanation  of  terms,  but  deduced  from 
a  sagacious  developement  of  facts,  which  have  hitherto 
been  concealed  under  perplexed  and  mistaken,  but  suf* 
ficiently  intelligible  language.  He  has  likewise  supported 
the  conclusions  which  he  has  drawn  by  evidence  collected 
from  sources  not  usually  resorted  to  in  such  researches. 

Several  years  ago,  Dr.  Willan  made  a  collection  of  ob- 
servations in  about  two  thousand  patients,  with  a  view  to 
an  investigation  of  medical  physiognomy,  or  temperaments, 
chiefly  in  regard  to  the  diseases  to  which  each  variety  of 
temperament  is  peculiarly  predisposed,  and  to  the  opera- 
tion of  medicines  on  them  respectively.  In  the  prosecu- 
tion of  this  inquiry  he  procured  several  drawings  (portraits) 
illustrative  of  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  more  striking 
varieties.  He  arrived  at  some  interesting  inferences  re-' 
specting  both  the  physical  and  moral  constitutions  con- 
nected with  these  external  characters,  but  he  did  not  deem 
the  matter  sufficiently  matured  to  lay 'Before  the  public. 

^  In  conclusion,  we  must  not  omit  to  mention  a  juvenile 
work  published  by  Dr.  Willan,  on  a  theological  subject ; 
namely,  a  <ffLife  of  Christ,"  related  in  the  words  of  the 
evangelists,  of  whose  details  he  selected  those  parts  re- 
spectively which  were  most  full  ^nd  explicit;  and  he  il- 
lustrated the  whole  by  critical  notes  and  explanations, 
which  were  particularly  full  in  regard  to  the  diseases  men- 
tioned by  those  sacred  writers.  A  second  editiou  of  this 
work,  with  additional  illustrations,  was  published  in  1802.1 
WILLET  (Andrew),  a  learned  divine,  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Ely  in  1562.  His  father,  Mr.  Thomas  Willet,  was 
sub-almoner  to  Edward  VI.  and  a  sufferer  during  the  perse* 
cutious  in  queen  Mary's  reign  ;  but  in  that  of  queen  Eli* 
zabeth,  was  preferred  to  the  rectory  of  Barley  in  Hertford* 
shire,  and  to  a  prebend  in  the  church  of  Ely.  His  son, 
who  had  been  a  very  diligent  and  successful  student  while 
at  school,  was  sent  in  his  fourteenth  year  to  Peter-house, 

1  Abridged  from  the  Life  of  Dr.  Willan,  in  the  *¥  Edinburgh  Medical  and 
Surgical  Journal,"  No.  32;  and  obligingly  cunmmnicated  to  us  by  the  learned 
author.  Dr.  Bateman,  of  Bloomsbury-tquare. 


WILLET.  93 

Cambridge)  whence  he  afterwards  removed  to  Christ's  col-* 
lege,  and  obtained  a  fellowship.  After  passing  thirteen 
years  in  the  university,  during  which  he  afforded  many 
proofs  of  extraordinary  application  and  talents,  queen 
Elizabeth  gave  him  his  father's  prebend  in  Ely,  about  1598, 
the  year  his  father  died.  One  of  his  name  was  also  rector 
of  Reed,  in  Middlesex,  in  1613,.  and  of  Chishall  Parva, 
in  Essex,  in  1620,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  this  was  the 
same  person.  Itseems  more  certain,  however,  that  he  had 
the  rectory  of  Childerley,  in  Cambridgeshire,  and  in  1597 
tbat  of  Little  Grantesden,  in  the  same  county,  for  which 
betook  in  exchange  the  rectory  of  Barley,  vacant  by  his 
father's  death.  He  was  also  chaplain  to  prince  Henry. 
About,  this  time  he  married  a  relation  to  Dr.  Goad,  by 
whom  be  had  eleven  sons  and  seven  daughters. 

Dr.  Willet  was  usually  called  a  living  library,  from  the 
great  extent  of  his  reading  and  of  his  memory.  He  was 
also  not  less  admired  as  a  preacher,  not  only  in  his  parish, 
but  at<?ourt.  He  also  obtained  a  great  degree  of  celebrity 
by  his  numerous  publications,  particularly  his  "  Synopsis 
Papism i ;  or  a  general  view  of  papistrie,"  a  work  dedicated 
to  the  queen,  which,  although  a  folio  of  1300  pages,  passed 
through  five  editions,  and  was  much  admired  in  both  uni- 
versities, and  by  the  clergy  and  laity  at  large,  as  the  best 
refutation  of  popery,  which  had  then  appeared.  He  died 
of  the  consequences  of  a  fall  from  bis  horse,  at  Hoddesdon, 
tu  Hertfordshire,  Dec.  4,  1621,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  interred  in  the  chancel  of  Barley  church, 
where  there  is  a  representation  of  him  at  full  length,  in  a 
praying  attitude,  and  with  an  inscription,  partly  Latin  and 
partly  English. 

Besides  his  "  Synopsis  Papismi,"  Dr.  Willet  was  the 
author  of  many  works,  principally  commentaries  on  the 
scriptures;  as,  1.  "  Hexapla.on  Genesis  and  JSxodus,"  fol. 
1632.  2.  «  On  Leviticus,"  l£3l,  fol.  3.  "  On  Daniel," 
1610,  fol.  4.  "On  the  Romans,"  16 1 1,  fol.  &c.  5.  «Trac- 
tatus  de  Salomonis  nuptiis,  vel  Epithalamium  in  nuptiis 
inter  Comlt.  Palatinum  et  Elizabethan*  Jacobi  rfcgis  filiam 
unicam,"  1612,  4to.  6.  "  De  Gratia  generi  humano  iti 
primo  parente  collata,  de  lapsu  Adami,"  &c.  Leyden,  1609, 
8vo.  7. "  Thesaurus  Ecclesi«,"  Camb.  1604,  8vo.  8.  "  De 
animse  natura  et  viribus."  9.  "  Sacra  Emblemata,"  &©.  &c. 
with  others,  the  titles  of  which  are  given  very  inaccurately 
by  his  biographers.  *• 


*«  W  1  L  L  E  T. 

On6  of  his  descendants  was  the  late  Ralph  Willet,  esq. 
of  Merly,  in  Dorsetshire,  and  founder  and  proprietor  of 
the  celebrated  Merly  library,  which  was  disposed  of  by 
auction  some  months  ago. ! 

WILLIAM  of  M ALMSBURY.     See  MALMSBURY- 

WILLIAM  of  NANGIS.     See  NANGIS. 

WILLIAMS  (Anna),  an  ingenious  English  lady,  was 
the  daughter  of  a  surgeon  and  physician  in  South  Wales, 
where  she  was  born  in  1 706.  Her  father,  Zachariah  Wil- 
liams, during  his  residence  in  Wales,  imagined  that  be 
bad  discovered,  by  a  kind  of  intuitive  penetration,  what 
had  escaped,  the  rest  of  mankind.  He  fancied  that  he  had 
been  fortunate  enough  to  ascertain  the  longitude  by  mag* 
netism,  and  that  the  variations  of  the  needle  were  equal, 
at  equal  distances,  east  and  west.  The  idea  fired  his 
imagination  \  and,  prompted  by  ambition,  and  the  hopes 
of  splendid  recompence,  heMetermined  to  leave  bis  bu- 
siness and  habitation  for  the  metropolis.  Miss  William* 
accompanied  him,  and  they  arrived  in  London  about  1730; 
but  the  bright  views  which  had  allured  him  from  hit  profes- 
sion soon  vanished.  The  rewards  which  he  had  promised 
himself  ended  in  disappointment;  and  the  ill  success  of  his 
schemes  may  be  inferred  from  the  only  recompence  which 
his  journey  and  imagined  discovery  procured.  He  was 
admitted  a  pensioner  at  the  Charter-house.  When  Miss 
Williams  first  resided  in  London,  she  devoted  no  inconsi- 
derable portion  of  her  time  to  its  various  amusements.  She 
visited  every. object  that,  merited  the  inspection  of  a  po- 
lished and  laudably- inquisitive  mind,  or  could  attract  the 
attention  of  a  stranger.  At  a  later  period  of  life  she  spoke 
familiarly  of  these  scenes,  of  which  the .  impression  was 
never  erased*  though  they  must,  however,  have  soon  lost 
their  allurements.  Mr.  Williams  did  not  long  continue  a 
member  of  the  Charter-house.  A  dispute  with  the  masters 
obliged  him  to  remove  from  this  asylum  of  age  and  po- 
verty. In  1749  he  published  in  4to  u  A  true  JNarrativje," 
&c.  of  the  treatment  he  had  met  with.  He  was  now  ex*- 
posed  to  severe  trials,  and  every  succeeding  day  increased 
the  gloominess  of  his  prospects.  In  1740  Miss  Williams 
lost  her  sight  by  a  cataract,  which  prevented  her,  in  a 
great  measure,  from  assisting  his  distresses,  and  alleviating 

1  Fuller's  Abel  Red i virus,  and  Barksdale's  Remembrancer,  in  both  of  which 
to  Dr.  Willet's  life  by  his  son-in-law  Dr.  Peter  Smith. — Strype's  Whitgift,  p, 
435,  543.— Ath.  Ox.  vol.  I.— Nichols's  Bowyer,  vol.  VHI. 


\V  t  L  L  I  A  M  &  91 

his  sorrows. '  She  still,  however,  felt  her  passion  for  li- 
terature equally  predominant.  She1  continued  the  same 
attention  to  the  neatness  of  her  dress ;  and,  what  is  more 
extraordinary,  continued  still  the  exercise  bf  her  needle, 
a  branch  of  female  accomplishment  in  which  she  had  be- 
fore displayed  great  excellence.  During  the  lowness  of 
her  fortune  she  worked  for  herself  with  nearly  as  much 
dexterity  and  readiness  as  if  she  had  not  suffered  a  loss  so 
irreparable.  Her  powers  of  conversation  retained  their 
former  vigour.  Her  mind  did  not  sink  under  these  cala- 
mities ;  and  the  natural  activity  of  her  disposition  ani- 
mated her  to  uncommon  exertions : 


"  Though  fallen  on  evil  days ; 
On  evil  days  though  fallen ; 
In  darkness,  and  with  dangers  compass'd  round, 
And  solitude !" 

In  1746,  notwithstanding  her  blindness,  she  published 
the  "  Life  of  the  emperor  Julian,  with  notes,  translated 
from  the  French  of  F.  La  Bleterie."     In  this  translation 
she  was  assisted  by  two  female  friends,  whose  names  were 
Wilkinson.     This  book  was  printed  by  Bowyer,  in  whose 
life,  by  Nichols,  we  are  informed,  that  he  contributed  the 
advertisement,  and  wrote  the  notes,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Clarke  and  others.    The  work  was  revised  by  Mark* 
land  and  Clarke.     It  does  not  appear  what  pecuniary  ad- 
vantages Miss  Williams  might  derive  from  this  publication. 
They  were  probably  not  very  considerable,  and  afforded 
only  a  temporary  relief  to  the  misfortunes  of  her  father. 
About  this  time,  Mr.  Williams,  who  imparted  his  afflictions 
to  all  from  whom  he  hoped  consolation  or  assistance,  told 
his  story  to  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  $  and,  among  other  aggra- 
vations of  distress,  mentioned  his  daughter's  blindness.    He 
spoke  of  her  acquirements  in  such  high  terms,  that  Mrs. 
Johnson,  who  was  then  living,  expressed  a  desire  of  seeing 
her ;  and  accordingly  she  was  soon  afterwards  brought  to 
the  doctor's  house  by  her  father ;  and  Mrs.  Johnson  found 
her  possessed  of  such  qualities  as  recommended  her  strongly 
for  a  friend.     As  her  own  state  of  health,  therefore,  was 
Weak,  and  ber  husband  was  engaged  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  day  in  his  studies,  she  gave  Miss  Williams  a 
general  invilation  :  a  strict  intimacy  soon  took  place ;  but 
the  enjoyment  of  their  friendship  did  not  continue  long. 
Soon  after  its  commencement,  Mrs.  Johnson  was  attended 
by  her  new  companion  in  an  illness  which  terminated  fatally. 

Vol.  XXXII.  H 


98  WILLIAM  & 

/ 

4 

Dr.  Johnson  still  retained  bis  regard  for  her,  and  in  \1&$+ 
by  his  recommendation,  Mr.  Sharp,  the  surgeon.  Undertook 
to  perform  the  operation  on  Miss  Williams's  eyes,  which  is 
usual  in  such  cases,  in  hopes  of  restoring  her  sight.  Her 
own  habitation  was  not  judged  convenient  for  the  occasion. 
She  was,  therefore,  invited  to  the  doctor's.  The  surgeon's 
skill,  however,  proved  fruitless,  as  the  crystalline  humour 
was  not  sufficiently  inspissated  for  the  needle  to  take  effect. 
The  recovery  of  her  sight  was  pronounced  impossible. 
Afrer  this  dreadful  sentence,  she  never  left  the  roof  whicb 
had  received  her  during  the  operation.  The  doctor's  kind- 
ness and  conversation  soothed  her  melancholy  situation  : 
and  her  society  seemed  to  alleviate  the  sorrows  which  his 
late  loss  had  occasioned.* 

When  Dr.  Johnson,  however,  changed  his  residence,  she 
returned  to  lodgings ;  and,  in  1755,  her  father  published  a 
book,  in  Italian  and  English,  entitled  "An  Account  of  an 
Attempt  to  ascertain  the  longitude  at  sea,  by  an  exact 
Theory  of  the  magnetical  Needle," 

In  1755,  Mrs.  Williams's,  circumstances  were  rendered 
more  easy  by  the  profits  'of  a  benefit-play,  granted  her  by 
the  kindness  of  Mr.  Garrick,  from  which  she  received  200/. 
which  was  placed  in  the  stocks. '  While  Mrs.  Williams  en* 
joyed  so  comfortable  an  asylum,  her  life  passed  in  one  even 
tenour.  It  was  chequered  by  none  of  those  scenes  which 
enliven  biography  by  their  variety.  The  next  event  of  any 
consequence,  in  the  history  of  Mrs.  Williams,  was  the  pub- 
lication of  a  volume  of  "  Miscellanies  in  Prose  and  Verse/' 
in  1766.  Her  friends  assisted  her  in  the  completion  of 
this  book,  by  several  voluntary  contributions*  and  100/. 
which  was  laid  out  in  a  bridge-bond,'  was  added  to  her 
little  stock  by  the  liberality  of  her  subscribers.  About 
17G6,v  Dr.  Johnson  removed  from  the  Temple,  where  he 
had  lived,  for  some  time,  in  chambers,  to  Johnson's-eourt, 
Fleet-street,  and  again  invited  to  his  house  the  worthy 
friend  of  Mrs.  Johnson.  The  latter  days  of  Mrs.  Williams* 
were  now  rendered  easy  and  comfortable.  Her  wants  were 
few,  and,  to  supply  them,  she  made  her  income  sufficient. 
She  still  possessed  an  unalterable  friend  in  Dr.  Johnson* 
Her  acquaintance  was  select  rather  than  numerous.  Their 
society  made  the  infirmities  of  age  less  intolerable,  and 
communicated  a  cheerfulness  to  her  situation,  which  soli- 
tary blindness  would  otherwise  have  rendered  truly  de- 
plorable. 


WILLIAMS.  &9 

•  She  died  at  the  house  of  her  friend,  in  Bolt-court,  Fleet- 
street  (whither  they  removed  about  1775),  on  the  6th  of 
September,  1783,  aged  seventy-seven  years.  She  be- 
queathed all  her  little  effects  to  a  charity,  which  had  been 
instituted  for  the  education  of  poor  deserted  girls,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  several  Jadies. ' 

WILLIAMS  (Charles  Hanbury),  a  statesman  and  wit 
of  considerable  temporary  fame,  was  the  third  son  of  John 
Hanbury,  esq.  a  South  Sea  Director,  who  died  in  1734. 
Charles,  who  in  consequence  of  the  will  of  his  godfather, 
Charles  Williams,  esq.  of  Caerleon,  assumed  the  name  of 
Williams,  was  horn  in  1709,  and  educated  at  Eton,  where 
he  made  considerable  progress  in  classical  literature ;  and 
having  finished  his  studies,  traveled  through  various  parts 
of  Europe.  Soon  after  his  return  he  assumed  the  name  of 
Williams,  obtained  from  his  father  the  estate  of  Coldbrook, 
'  and  espoused,  in  1732,  lady  Frances  Coningsby,  youngest 
daughter  of  Thomas,  earl  of  Coningsby* 

On  the  death  of  his  father  in  1733,  he  was  elected  mem- 
ber of  parliament  for  the  county  of  Monmouth,  and  uni- 
formly supported  the  administration  of  sir  Robert  Walpole, 
whom  be  idolized ;  he  received  from  that  minister  many 
early  and  confidential  marks  of  esteem,  and  in  1739  was 
was  appointed  by  him  paymaster  of  the  marines.  His 
name  occurs  only  twice  as  a  speaker,  in  Chandler's  de- 
bates :  but  the  substance  of  his  speech  is  given  in  neither 
instance.  Sprightliness  of  conversation,  ready  wit,  and 
agreeable  manners,  introduced  him  to  the  acquaintance  of' 
men  of  the  first  talents.:  he  was  the  soul  of  the  celebrated 
coterie,  of  which  the  most  conspicuous  members  were,  lord 
Hervey,  Winnington,  Horace  Walpole,  late  earl  of  Orford* 
Stephen  Fox,  earl  of  Ilchester,  and  Henry  Fox,  lord  Hol- 
land, with  whom,  in  particular,  be  lived  in  the  strictest  habits 
of  intimacy  and- friendship.  At  this  period  he  distinguished 
himself  by  political  ballads  remarkable  for  vivacity,  keen- 
ness- of  invective,  and  ease  of  versification.  In  1 746  he  was 
installed  knight  of  the  Bath,  and  soon  after,  appointed  envoy 
to  the  court  of  Dresden,  a  situation  which  he  is  said  to  have 
solicited,  that  its  employments  might  divert  his  grief  for  the 
death  of  his  friend  Mr.  Winnington.  The  votary  of  wit  and 
pleasure'was  instantly  transformed  into  a  m£n  of  business, 

»  Gent,  Mag.  vols.  XX.  LIU.  and  LVIL-~London  Mag.  1784.— Hawkbfi 
Life  of  John8on.«-*-Boswe)l's  Life  of  Johnson.— Nichols's  Bowyar. 

h  a 


100  W  1  L  L  1  A  to  s. 

and  the  author  of  satirical  odes  penned  excellent  dispatches* 
He  was  well  adapted  for  the  office  of  a  foreign  minister, 
and  the  lively,  no  less  than  the  solid,  parts  of  his  character, 
proved  useful  in  his  new  employment;  flow  of  conversa- 
tion, sprightliness  of  wit,  politeness  of  demeanour,  ease  of 
address,  conviviality  of  disposition,  together  with  the  de- 
licacy of  his  table,  attracted  persons  of  all  descriptions. 
He  had  .an  excellent  tact  for  discriminating  characters,  hu- 
mouring the  foibles  of  those  with  whom  he  negociated,  and 
conciliating  those  by  whom  the  great  were  either  directly 
or  indirectly  governed. 

In  1749  be  was  appointed,  at  the  express  desire  of  the 
king,  to  succeed  Mr.  Legge  as  minister  plenipotentiary 
at  the  court  of  Berlin;  but  in  1751  returned  to  his  embassy 
at  Dresden.  During  hi»  residence  at  these  courts,  he 
transacted  the  affairs  of  England  and  Hanover  with  so 
much  address,  that  he  was  dispatched  to  Petersburg,  in  a 
time  of  critical  emergency,  to  conduct  a  negociation  of 
great  delicacy  and  importance.  The  disputes  concerning 
the  limits  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  possessions  of  North 
America  threatened  a  rupture  between  Great  Britain  and 
France ;  hostilities  were  on  the  point  of  commencing  in 
America,  and  France  had  resolved  to  invade  the  Low* 
Countries,  and  the  electorate  of  Hanover,  and  to  excite  a 
continental  war.  With  this  view  the  cabinet  of  Versailles; 
proposed  to  the  king  of  Prussia,  to  co-operate  in  invading 
the  electorate,  and  attacking  the  dominions  of  the  house 
of  Austria,  hitherto  the  inseparable  ally  of  England*  The 
British  cabinet,  alarmed  at  this  aspect  of  affairs,  formed  a 
plan  of  a  triple  alliance  between  Great  Britain,  Austria, 
and  Russia,  and  to  promote  the  negociation,  the  king  re- 
paired to  Hanover,  accompanied  by  the  earl  of  Holder- 
nesse,  secretary  of  state. 

Sir  Charles  Hanbury  Williams  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg 
in  the  latter  end  of  June ;  the  negociation  had  been  already 
opened  by  Mr.  Guy  Dickins,nvho  lately  occupied  the  post 
of  envoy  to  the  court  of  Russia;  but  his  character  aud 
manners  were  not  calculated  to  ensure  success*  He  was 
treated  with  coldness  and  reserve  by  the  empress,  and  had 
rendered  hipaself  highly  offensive  to  the  great  chancellor* 
count  Bestucheff.  On  the  first  appearance  of  the  new  am- 
bassador, things  immediately  wore  a  favourable  aspect ;  at 
bis  presence  all  obstacles  were  instantly  removed,  and  alt 
difficulties  vanished.    The  votary  of  wit  and  pleasure  was. 


WILLIAMS.  101 

well  received  by  the  gay  and  voluptuous  Elizabeth;  he  at- 
tached to  his  cause  the  great  duke,  afterwards  the  unfortu- 
nate Peter  the  Third;  and  his  consort,  the  princess  of 
Anhalt  Zerbst,  who  became  conspicuous  under  the  name 
of  Catherine  the  Second.  All  the  ministers  vied  in  loading 
him  with  marks  of  attention  and  civility;  be  broke  through 
the  usyal  forms  of  etiquette,  and  united  in  his  favour  the 
discordant  views  of  the  Russian  cabinet)  he  conciliated  the 
unbending  and  suspicious  Bestucheff;  warmed  the  phleg- 
matic temper  of  the  vice-chancellor,  count  Voronaoff;  and 
gained  the  under  agents,  who  were  enabled,  by  petty  in* 
trigues  and  secret  cabals,  to  thwart  the  intentions  of  the 
principal  ministers.  He  fulfilled  literally  the  tenor  of  his 
own  expressions,  that  he  would  "make  use  of  the  honey* 
moon  of  his  ministry,"  to  conclude  the  convention  as 
speedily  as  possible  qft  the  best  terms  which  could  be  ob- 
tained :  be  executed  the  orders  of  the  king,  npt  to  sign 
any  treaty  in  which  an  attack  on  any  of  his  majesty's  allies, 
or  on  any  part  of  his  electoral  dominions,  was  not  made  a 
casus  fdtderis :  in  six  weeks  after  his  arrival  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, he  obtained  the  signature,  without  using  all  the  full 
powers  intrusted  to  him  by  the  British  cabinet,  and  instantly 
transmitted  it  to  Hanover. 

His  sanguine  imagination  exaggerated  the  merit  of  his 
services;  and  he  fondly  expected  air  instantaneous  answer 
filled  with  expressions  of  high  applause.  Some  time,  how- 
ever, elapsed  before  any  answer  arrived ;  at  length  the  ex- 
pected messenger  came ;  he  seized  the  dispatches,  and 
opened  them  with  extreme  impatience,  in  the  presence  of 
his  confidential  friend,  count  Poniatowski,  afterwards  king 
of  Poland.  In  a  few  minutes  he  threw  the  letter  which  he 
was  reading  on  the  floor,  struck  his  forehead  with  both  his 
bands,  and  remained  for  some  time  absorbed  in  a  deep  re- 
verie. Turning  at  length  to  count  Poniatowski,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Wall  Id  you  think  it  possible  ?  Instead  of  re- 
ceiving thanks  for  my  zeal  and  activity  in  concluding  the 
convention,  I  am  blamed  for  an  informality  in  the  signa- 
ture, and  the  king  is  displeased  with  my  efforts  to  serve 
him."  This  interesting  anecdote,  Mr.  Coxe,  from  whose 
w  Toqr  in  Monmouthshire"  this  life  is  abridged,  received 
from  the  late  king  of  Poland  himself  in  1785.  To  the 
same  work  we  must  refer  for  a  particular  detail  of  the  in- 
trigues which  baffled  the  endeavours  of  sjr  Charles,  and  in* 


102  WILLIAMS. 

daced  bifn  to  make  repeated  and  earnest  entreaties,  in  con» 
sequence  of  which,  permission  was  granted  for  his  return, 
but  he  was  induced  to  continue  in  his  post  until  all  his 
efforts  proved  unsuccessful,  and  the  empress  coalesced  with 
Austria  and  France.  In  the  midst  of  this  arduous  business 
bis  health  rapidly  declined,  his  head  was  occasionally  af* 
fected,  and  his  mind  distracted  with  vexation ;  the  irregu- 
larities of  his  life  irritated  his  nerves,  and  a  fatiguing  jour- 
ney exhausted  his  spirits. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Hamburgh,  in  the  autumn  of 
1757,  he  was  suddenly  smitten  with  a  woman  of  low  in-* 
trigue,  gave  her  a  note  for  2000/.  and  a  contract  of  mar- 
riage, though  his  wife  was  still  living :  he  also  took  large 
doses  of  stimulating  medicines,  which  affected  his  head, 
and  he  was  conveyed  to  England  in  a  state  of  insanity. 
During  the  passage,  he  fell  from  the  deck  into  the  hold, 
and  dangerously  bruised  his  side ;  be  was  blooded  four 
times  on  board,  and  four*  times  immediately  after  bis  ar- 
rival in  England.  In  little  more  than  a  month  be  recovered, 
and  passed  the  summer  at  Coldbrook-house.  But  towards 
the  latter  end  of  1759,  he  relapsed  into  a  state  of  insanity, 
and  expired  on  the  second  of  November,  aged  fifty. 

His  official  dispatches,  says  Mr.  Cose,  are  written  with 
great  life  and  spirit ;  he  delineates  characters  with  truth 
and  facility ;  and  describes  his  diplomatic  transactions  witht 
minuteness  and  accuracy,  but  without  tediousness  or  for- 
mality. His  verses  were  highly  prized  by  his  contempo- 
raries, but  in  perusing  those  which  have  been  given  to  the 
public,  "  Qdes,  1775,  }2mo,"  and  those  which  are  still  in 
manuscript,  tbe  greater  part  are  political  effusions,  or  li- 
centious lampoons,  abounding  with  local  wit  and  temporary 
satire,  eagerly  read  at  the  time  of  their  appearance,  but 
little  interesting  to  posterity.  Three  of  his  pieces,  how-, 
ever,  deserve  to  be  exempted  from  this  general  character ; 
his  poem  of  "  Isabella,  or  the  Morning,"  is  remarkable  for 
ease  of  versification,  and  happy  discrimination  of  character ; 
his  epitaph  on  Mr.  Winnington  is  written  with  great  feel- 
ing; and  his  beautiful  "  Ode  to  Mr.  Pointz,"  in  honour  of 
the  duke  of  Cumberland,  breathes  a  spirit  of  sublimity  * 
which  entitles  the  author  to  the  rank  of  a  poet,  and  excites 
our  regret  that  hU  muse  was  not  always  employed  on  sub- 
jects worthy  of  his  talents. 

He  wrote  a  very  julmisable  paper  in  the  World,  No.  37, 


WILLIAMS. 


103 


not  noticed  by  Mr.  Coxe,  but  which  from  the  date  appears 
to  have  been  the  employment  of  a  leisure  hour  when  at  St. 
Petersburg. 

Sir  Charles  left  by  his  wife  two  daughters ;  Frances,  first 
wife  of  William  Anne,  late  earl  of  Essex,  and  Charlotte, 
who  espoused  the  honourable  Robert  Boyle  Walsingham, 
youngest  son  of  the  earl  of  Shannon,  a  commodore  in  the 
navy.  On  his  death  without  issue  male,  the  estate  and 
mansion  of  Coldbrook  came  to  his  brother  George,  who 
-died  in  1764,  and  now  belongs  to  his  son  John  Hanbury 
Williams,  esq.  the  present  proprietor.  *  ' 

WILLIAMS  (Daniel),  an  eminent  divine  among  the 
dissenters,  and  a  munificent  benefactor  to  their  and  other 
societies,  both  of  the  learned  and  charitable  kind,  was  born 
about  1644,  at  Wrexham,  in  the  county  of  Denbigh,  in 
North  Wales.  No  particulars  are  known  of  his  parents, 
or  of  his  early  years,  but  it  appears  that  he  laboured  under 
some  disadvantages  as  to  education,  which,  however,  he 
surmounted  by  spirit  and  perseverance.  He  says  of  him- 
self, that  "from  five  years  old,  he  had  no  employment,  but 
his  studies,  and  that  by  nineteen  he  was  regularly  admitted 
a  preacher."  As  this  was  among  the  nonconformists,  it  is 
probable  that  his  parents  o*  early  connections  lay  among 
that  society.  "As  he  entered  on  his  ministry  about  1663, 
when  the  exercise  of  it  was  in  danger  of  incurring  the  pe- 
nalties of  the  law,  he  was  induced  to  go  to  Ireland,  and  was 
there  invited  to  be  chaplain  to  the  countess  of  Meath. 
Some  time  after  he  was  called  to  be  pastor  to  a  eongra- 
gatioti  of  dissenters  assembling  in  Wood-street,  Dtfblin, 
in  which  situation  he  continued  for  nearly  twenty  years, 
And  was  highly  approved  and  useful.  Here  he  married 
his  first  wife,  a  lady  of  family  and  fortune,  which  last, 
while  it  gave  him  a  superior  rank  and  consequence  to 
.many  of  his  brethren,  he  contemplated  only  as  the  means 
of  doing  good. 

During  the  troubles  in  Ireland,  at  the  latter  end  of  the 
reign  of  king  James  II.  he  found  it  necessary  to  return  to 
London  in  1687,  and  resided  in  London.  Here  he  was  of 
great  use  upon  a  very  critical  occasion.  Some  of  the  court 
agents  at  that  time  endeavoured  to  bring  the  dissenters 
in  the  city  to  address  the  king  upon  his  dispensing  with 
<the  penal  laws.     In  a  conference  at  one  of  their  meetings 

1  Cttye'i  Tour  la  Monmouthshire. 


104  WILLIAMS. 

upon  that  occasion,  in  the  presence  of  some  of  the  agents, 
Mr.  Williams  declared,  "  That  it  was  with  him  past  doubt, 
that  the  severities  of  the  former  reign  upon  the  protestant 
dissenters  were,  rather  as  they  stood  in  the  way  of  arbitrary 
power,  than  for  their  religious  dissent  So  it  were  better 
for  them  to  be  reduced  to  their  former  hardships,  than 
declare  for  measures  destructive  of  the  liberties  of  their 
country ;  and  that  for  himself,  before  he  would  concur  in 
?uch  an  address,  which  should  be  thought  an  approbation 
pf  the  dispensing  power,  he  would  choose  to  lay  down  his 
liberty  at  his  majesty's  feet."  He  pursued  the  argument 
with  sqcb  clearness  and  strength,  that  all  present  rejected 
the  motion,  and  the  emissaries  went  away  disappointed. 
There  was  a  meeting  at  the  same  time  of  a  considerable 
number  of  the  city  clergy,  waiting  the  issue  of  their  deli- 
beration, who  were  greatly  animated  and  encouraged  by 
this  resolution  of  the  dissenting  ministers.  Very  recent 
experience  has  shewn  how  much  Mr.  Williams  differs  in 
this  matter  from  his  descendants,  many  of  whom  have  been 
the  professed  advocates  for  what  is  called  catholic  eman- 
cipation. 

After  the  revolution,  Mr.  Williams  was  not  only  fire? 
quently  consulted  by  king  William  concerning  Irish  affairs, 
with  which  he  was  well  acquainted,  but  often  regarded  at 
court  on  behalf  of  several  who  fled  from  Ireland,  and  were 
capable  of  doing  service  to  government.  He  received 
great  acknowledgments  and  thanks  upon  this*  account,  when, 
in  1700,  he  went  b^ck  to  that  country  to  visit  his  old  friends, 
and  to  settle  some  affairs,  relative  to  his  estate  in  that  king- 
dom. After  preaching  for  some  time  occasionally  in  Lon- 
don, he  became  pastor  of  a  numerous  congregation  at 
Band-alley  in  Eisbopsgate- street  in  1688,  and  upqq  the 
death  of  the  celebrated  Richard  Baxter  in  1691,  by  whom 
he  was  greatly  esteemed,  he  succeeded  him  as  one  of  those 
who  preached  the  merchants1 -lecture,  at  Pinners'- ball, 
Broad-street*  But  it  was  not  long  before  the  frequent 
clashings  in  the  discourses  of  these  lecturers  caused  a  di- 
vision. Mr.  Williams  bad  preached  warmly  against  soqie 
antinomian  tenets,  which  giving  offence  to  many  persons, 
a  design  was  formed  to  exclude  him  from  the  lecture. 
Upon  this  he,  with  Dr.  Bates,  Mr.  Howe,  and  Mr.  Alsop, 
&c.  retired  and  raised  another  lecture  at  Salter's,- hall  on 
the  same  day  and  hour.  This  division  was  soon  after  in- 
creased by  the  publication  of  some  of  Dr.  Crisp's  works. 


WILLIAMS.  105 

(See  Crisp)  and  a  controversy  took  place  as  to  the  more 
or  less  of  antinpmianism  in  these  works,  which  lasted  for 
some  years,  and  was  attended  with  much  intemperance 
and  personal  animosity.  What  is  rather  remarkable,  the 
contending  parties  appealed  to  bishop  Stillingfleet,  and 
Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards  of  Oxford,  who  both  approved  of 
what  Mr.  Williams  had  done.  Mr.  Williams's  chief  pub- 
lication on  the  subject  was  entitled  "  Gospel  Truth  stated 
and  vindicated,"  1691,  12mo.  The  controversy  by  his 
friends  was  called  the  antinomian,  but  by  Dr.  Crisp's  ad- 
vocates the  neonomian  controversy.  Mr.  Williams  was  not 
only  reckoned  a  heretic,  but  attempts  were  even  made  to 
injure  bis  moral  character,  which,  however,  were  defeated 
by  tbe  unanimous  testimony  of  all  who  knew  him,  or  took 
the  trouble  to  inquire  into  the  ground  of  such  accusations. 
In  his  congregation,  it  is  said,  he  lost  no  friend. 

Some  time  after  the  death  of  his*  wife,  be  married  in 
1701,  as  his  second,  Jaoe,  the  widow  of  Mr.  Francis  Bark* 
Stead,  and  the  daughter  of  one  Guill,  a  French  refugee; 
by  her  also  he  had  a  very  considerable  fortune,  which  he 
devoted  to  the  purposes  of  liberality.  Of  his  political  sen- 
timents, we  learn  only,  that  he  was  an  enemy  to  the  bill 
against  occasional  conformity,  and  a  staunch  friend'  to  tbe 
union  with  Scotland.  When  on  a  visit  to  that  country  in 
1709,  he  received  a  diploma  for  the  degree  of  D.  D.  from 
the  university  of  Edinburgh,  and  another  from  Glasgow. 
One  of  his  biographers  gives  us  the  following  account  of 
bis  conduct  on  this  occasion.  "  He  was  so  far  from  seek- 
ing or  expecting  this  honour,  that  be  was  greatly  displeased 
with  the  occ&sion  of  it,  and  with  great  modesty  he  en- 
treated Mr.  Carstairs,  the  principal  of  the  college  at  Edin- 
burgh, to  prevent  it.  But  the  dispatch  was  made  before 
that  desire  of  his  could  reach  them.  I  have  often  heard 
bim  express  his  dislike  of  the  thing  itself,  and  much  more 
his  distaste  at  the  officious  vanity  of  some  who  thought 
they  had  much  obliged  him  when  they  moved  for  the  pro- 
puring  it;  and  this,  not  that  he  despised  the  honour  of 
being  a  graduate  in  form  in  that  profession  in  which  he 
was  now  a  truly  reverend  father;  nor  in  the  least,  that  he 
refused  to  receive  any  favours  from  the  ministers  of  the 
church  of  Scotland,  for  whom  he  preserved  a  very  great 
esteem,  and  on  many  occasions  gave  signal  testimonies  of 
his  respect;  but  he  thought  it  savoured  of  an  extraordinary 
Vanity,  that  the  English  presbyterians  should  accept  a  no- 


106  WILLIAMS. 

initial  distinction,  which'  the  ministers  of  the  church  of 
Scotland  declined' for  themselves,  and  did  so  lest  it  should 
break  in  upomhat  parity  which  J  hey  so  severely  maintained ; 
which  parity  among  the  ministers  of  the  gospel?  the  pres- 
byterians  in  England  acknowledged  also  to  be  agreeable  to 
that  scripture  rute,  *  Whosoever  will  be  greatest  among 
you  let  him  be  as  the  younger,'  Luke  xxii.  26  ;  and  Matt, 
xxiii.  8,  *  Be  ye  not  called  Rabbi,*  of  which  text  a  learned 
writer  says,  it  should  have  been  translated,  '  Be  ye  not 
called  doctors ;'  and  the  Jewish  writers  and  expositors  of 
their  law,  are  by  some  authors  styled  Jewish  Rabbins,  by 
others,  and  that  more  frequently,  doctors,  &c.  &c."  Our 
readers  need  scarcely  be  told  that  this  is  another  point  on 
which  Dr.  Williams  differs  much  from  his  successors,  who 
are  as  ambitious  of  the  honour  of  being  called  doctor,  as 
be  was  to  avoid  it. 

In  the  latter  end  of  queen  Anne's  reign,  our  author  ap- 
pears to  have  had  extraordinary  fears  respecting  the  pro- 
testant  succession,  and  that  he  corresponded  very  freely 
with  the  earl  of  Oxford  upon  that  subject,  who,  however, 
discovering  that  he  had  been  yet  more  free  in  his  senti- 
ments in  another  and  more  private  correspondence,  with- 
drew his  friendship  from  him.  Soon  after,  the  accession 
of  George  I.  dispelled  his  fears,  and  he  was  at  the  head  of 
a  body  of  the  dissenting  ministers,  who  addressed  his  ma- 
jesty on  thfet  auspicious  occasion. 

Dr.  Williams  died,  after  a  short  illness,  Jan.  26,  1715- 
16,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age.  He  appears  to 
have  been  a  man  of  very  considerable  abilities,  and  having 
acquired  an  independent  fortune,  had  great  weight  both  as 
a  member  of  the  dissenting  interest,  and  as  a  politician  in 
general.  As  he  had  spent  much  of  his  life  in  benevolent  ac- 
tions, at  his  death  he  fully  evinced,  that  they  were  the  go- 
verning principles  of  his  character.  The  bulk  of  his  estate 
he  bequeathed  to  a  great  variety  of  charities.  Besides  the  set- 
tlement on  his  wife,  and  legacies  to  his  relations  and  friends, 
be  left  donations  for  the  education  of  youth  in  Dublin,  and 
for  an  itinerant  preacher  to  the  native  Irish ;  to  the  poor 
in  Wood-street  congregation,  and  to  that  in  Hand-alley, 
where  he  had  been  successively  preacher;  to  the  French 
refugees;  to  the  poor  of  Shoreditch  parish,  where  he 
lived;  to  several  ministers9  widows;  to  St.  Thomas's  hos- 
pital ;  to  the  London  workhouse ;  to  several  presbyteriaa 


WILLIAMS.  101 

meetings  in  the  country ;  to  the  college  of  Glasgow ;  to 
the  society  for  the  reformation  of  manners ;  to  the  society 
of  Scotland  for  propagating  Christian  knowledge ;  to  the 
society  for  New- England,  to  support  two  persons  to  preach 
to  the  Indians ;  to  the  maintaining  of  charity-schools  in 
Wales,  and  the  support  of  students ;  for  the  distribution 
of  Bibles,  and  pious  books  among  the  poor,  &c.  He  also 
ordered  a  convenient  building  to  be  purchased,  or  erected, 
for  the  reception-  of  his  own  library,  and  the  curious  col- 
lection of  Dr.  Bates,  which  he  purchased  for  that  purpose, 
at  the  expence  of  between  five  and  six  hundred  pounds. 
Accordingly,  a  considerable  number  of  years  after  his  death, 
a  commodious  building  was  erected  by  subscription  among 
the  opulent  dissenters,  in  Redcross-street,  Cripplegate, 
where  the  doctor's  books  were  deposited,  and  by  subse- 
quent additions,  the  collection  has  become  a  very  consider- 
able one.  It  is  also  a  depository  for  paintings  of,  noncon- 
formist ministers,  which  are  now  very  numerous ;  of  ma- 
nuscripts, and  other  matters  of  curiosity  or  utility.  In 
this  place,  the  dissenting  ministers  meet  for  transacting  all 
business  relating  to  the  general  body.  Registers  of  births 
of  the  children  of  protestaut  dissenters  are  also  kept  here 
with  accuracy,  and  have  been,  in  the  courts  of  law,  allowed 
equal  validity  with  parish  registers.  The  librarian,  who 
resides  in  the  house,  is  usually  a  minister,  chosen  from 
among  the  English  presbyterians,  to  which  denomination 
the  founder  belonged.  Dr.  Williams's  publications,  be- 
sides his  "  Gospel  Truth  stated,"  are  chiefly  sermons 
preached  on  occasion  of  ordinations,  or  funerals.  These 
were  published  together  in  1738,  2  vols.  3vo,  with  some 
account  of  his  life.  * 

WILLIAMS  (David),  a  literary  and  religious  projector 
of  some  note,  was  born  at  a  village  near  Cardigan,  in  1738, 
and  after  receiving  the  rudiments  of  education,  was  placed 
in  a  school  or  college  at  Carmarthen,  preparatory  to  the 
dissenting  ministry ;  which  profession  he' entered  upon  in 
obedience  to  parental  authority,  but  very  contrary  to  his 
own  inclination.  His  abilities  and  acquirements  even  then 
appeajred  of  a  superior  order ;  but  he  has  often  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  his  life  stated  to  the  writer  of  his  memoirs,  in 
the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  that  he  bad  long  considered  it 

1  Calamy.— Gen.  Diet. — Memoirs  of  his  Life,  1718,  Svo. — Wilson's  Hist,  of 
Dissentiug  Churches. — The  best  accoupt  of  the  controversy  relating  to  Dr.  Crisp 
Is  in  Nelson's  Jjfc  of  bishop  Bull,  pp.  259—276, 


108  WILLIAMS.      , 

as  a  severe  misfortune,  that  the  most  injurious  impressions 
were  made  upon  his  youthful'  and  ardent  mind  by  the  cold, 
austere,  oppressive,  and  unamiable  manner  in  which  the 
doctrines  and  duties  of  religion  were  disguised  in  the  stern 
ai\d  rigid  habits  of  a  severe  puritanical  master.  From  this 
college  be  took  the  office  of  teacher  to  a  small  congrega- 
tion at  Fro  me,  in  Somersetshire,  and  after  a  short  resi- 
dence was  removed  to  a  more  weighty  charge  at  Exeter. 
There  the  eminent  abilities  and  engaging  manners  of  the 
young  preacher  opened  to  him  the  seductive  path  of  plea- 
sure ;  when  the  reproof  that  some  elder  members  of  thd 
society  thought  necessary,  being  administered  in  a  manner 
to  awaken  resentment  rather  than  contrition  ;  and  the  eagle 
eye  of  anger  discovering  in  bis  accusers  imperfections  of  a 
different  character  indeed,  but  of  tendency  little  suited  to 
a  public  disclosure,  the  threatened  recrimination  suspended 
the  proceedings,  and  an  accommodatipn  took  place,  by 
which  Mr.  Williams  left  Exeter,  and  was  engaged  to  the 
superintendence  of  a  dissenting  congregation  at  Highgate. 
After  a  residence  there  of  a  year  or  two,  he  made  his  first 
appearance  in  1770,  as  an  author,  by  a  "  Letter  to  David 
Garrick,"  a  judicious  and  masterly,  critique  on  the  actor, 
but  a  sarcastic  personal  attack  on  the  man,  intended  to 
rescue  Mossop  from  the  supposed  unjust  displeasure  of  the 
modern  Roscias:  this  effect  was  produced,  Mossop  was 
liberated,  and  the  letter  withdrawn  from  the  booksellers. 
Shortly  after  appeared  "The  Philosopher,  in  three  Con- 
versations,1' which  were  much  read,  and  attracted  con- 
siderable notice.  This  was  soon  followed  by  "  Essays  on 
Public  Worship,  Patriotism,  and  Projects  of  Reformation;" 
written  and  published  upon  the  occasion  of  the  leading  re- 
ligious controversy  of  the  day ;  but  though  they  obtained 
considerable  circulation,  they  appear  not  to  have  softened 
the  asperities  of  either  of  the  contending  parties.  The 
Appendix  to  these  Essays  gave  a  strong  indication  of  that 
detestation  of  intolerance,  bigotry,  and  hypocrisy  which 
formed  the  leading  character  of  his  subsequent  life,  and 
which  bad  been  gradually  taking  possession  ef  his  mind 
from  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  circle  of  associates  into 
which  his  profession  had  thrown  him. 

He  published  two  volumes  of  "  Sermons,"  chiefly  upon 
Religious  Hypocrisy,  and  then  discontinued  the  exercise 
of  his  profession,  and  his  connection  with  the  body  of  dis- 
senters.    He  now  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  education  of 


WILLIAMS.  10* 

youth,  and  in  1773,  published  "A  Treatise  on  Education,*' 
recommending  a  method  founded  on  the  plans  of  Comme- 
nius  and  Rousseau,  which  he  proposed  to  carry  into  effect. 
He  took  a  house  in  Lawrence-street,  Chelsea,  married  a 
young  lady  not  distinguished  either  by  fortune  or  connec- 
tion, and  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  lucrative  and 
prosperous  establishment.  A  severe  domestic  misfortune 
in  the  death  of  bis  wife  blighted  this  prospect  of  fame  and 
fortune  :  his  fortitude  sunk  under  the  shock ;  his  anxious 
attendance  upon  her  illness  injured  his  own  health,  the  in- 
ternal concerns  of  the  family  became  disarranged,  and  he 
left  his  bouse  and  his  institution,  to  which  he  never  again 
returned. 

During  his  residence  at  Chelsea,  he  became  a  member 
of  a  select  club  of  political  and  literary  characters,  to  one 
of  whom,  the  celebrated  Benjamin  Franklin,  he  afforded 
an  asylum  in  his  house  at  Chelsea  during  the  popular  fer- 
ment against  bim,  about  the  time  of  the  commencement  of 
the  American  war.  In  this  club  was  formed  the  plan  of 
public  worship  intended  to  unite  all  parties  and  persuasions 
in  one  comprehensive  form.  Mr.  Williams  drew  up  and 
published^  "  A  Liturgy  on  the  universal  principles  of  Re- 
ligion and  Morality ;"  and  afterwards  printed  two  volumes 
of  Lectures,  delivered  with  this  Liturgy  at  the  chapel  in 
Margaret-street,  Cavendish-square,  opened  April  7,  1776. 
This  service  continued  about  four  years,  but  with  so  little 
public  support,  that  the  expence  of  the  establishment 
nearly  involved  the  lecturer  in  the  loss  of  his  liberty-  As 
the  plan  proposed  to  include  in  one  act  of  public  worship 
every  class  of  men  who  acknowledged  the  being  of  a  God, 
and  the  utility  of  public  prayer  and  praise,  it  necessarily 
left  unnoticed  every  other  point  of  doctrine;  intending, 
that  without  expressing  them  in  public  worship,  every  man 
should  be  left  in  unmolested  possession  of  his  own  peculiar 
opinions  in  private.  This,  however,  would  not  satisfy  any 
of  the  various  classes  and  divisions  of  Christians ;  it  was 
equally  obnoxious  to  the  churchman  and  to  the  dissenter; 
and  as  even  the  original  proposers,  though  consisting  only 
of  five  or  six,  could  not  long  agree,  several  of  them  at- 
tempting to  obtain  a  more  marked  expression  of  their  own 
peculiar  opinions  and  dogmas,  the  plan  necessarily  expired. 
Mr.  Williams  now  occupied  his  time  and  talents  in  assisting 
gentlemen  whose  education  had  been  defective,  and  in- 
forwarding  their  qualifications  for  the  senate,  the  diplo- 


110  W  I  L  L  i  A  M  S. 

> 

macy,  and  the  learned  professions.  In  this  employment 
he  prepared,  and  subsequently  published,  "  Lectures  on 
Political  Principles,"  and  "  Lectures  oti  Education,1'  in 
3  vols.  His  abilities  also  were  ever  most  readily  and  cheer* 
fully  employed  in  the  cause  of  friendship  and  benevolence  ; 
and  many  persons  under  injury  and  distress  have  to  ac- 
knowledge the  lasting  benefit  of  his  energetic  and  power- 
ful pen. 

During  the  alarm  in  1780  he  published  a  tract,  entitled 
11 A  Plan  of  Association  on  Constitutional  Principles  ;,f 
and  in  1732,  on  occasion  of  the  county  meetings  and  asso- 
ciations, he  gave  to  the  public  his  "  Letters  on  Political 
Liberty;"  the  most  important  perhaps  of  all  his  works;  it 
was  extensively  circulated  both  in  England  and  France, 
having  been  translated  into  French  by  Brissot,  and  was  the 
occasion  of  its  author  being  invited  to  Paris,  to  assist  in 
the  formation  of  a  constitution  for  that  country.  He  con* 
tinued  about  six  months  in  Paris ;  and  on  the  death  of  the 
Icing,  and  declaration  of  war  against  this  country,  took  leave 
of  his  friends  of  the  Girondist  party,  with  an  almost  pro- 
phetic intimation  of  the  fate  that  awaited  them.  He 
brought  with  him  on  bis  return  a  letter  from  the  ttfinister  of 
war,  addressed  to  lord  Grenville,  and  intended  to  give  Mr* 
Williams,  who  was  fully  and  confidentially  entrusted  with 
the  private  sentiments  and  wishes  of  the  persons  then  in 
actual  possession  of  the  government  of  France,  an  oppor- 
tunity of  conveying  those  sentiments  and  wishes  to  the 
British  ministry.  Mr.  Williams  delivered  the  letter  into 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Aust,  the  under  secretary  of  state,  but 
never  heard  from  lord  Grenville  on  the  subject  Some 
further  curious  circumstances  relating  to  this  transaction 
are  detailed  in  a  page  or  two,  corrected  by  Mr.  Williams 
himself,  in  Bisset's  "  History  of  George  III.'* 

Previously  to  receiving  this  invitation  he  had  removed 
from  Russell-street  to  Brompton,  for  the  purpose  of  exe-> 
cuting  an  engagement  he  had  formed  with  Mr.  Bowyer,  to 
superintend  the  splendid  edition  of  Hume,  and  write  a 
continuation  of  the  history;  but  after  his  return  from. 
France  he  found  himself  in  an  extraordinary  situation,  for 
at  the  very  time  he  had  been  denounced  in  France  as  a 
royalist,  he  had  been  branded  in  his  own^  country  as  a  de- 
mocrat;  and  he  was  informed  that  his  engagement  respect- 
ing the  History  of  England  could  not  be  carried  into  effect,, 
inconsequence,  as  it  was  stated,  of  an  intimation  having 


WILLIAMS.  Ill 

Veen  given  that  the  privilege  of  dedication  to  the  crown 
would  be  withdrawn  if  he  continued  the  work.  About  this 
time  he  published  the  "  Lessons  to  a  young  Prince,"  and 
engaged  in,  and  afterwards  executed,  the  "History  of 
Monmouthshire,"  in  one  vol.  4to,  with  plates  by  bis  friend 
the  rev.  John  Gardnor. 

With  regard  to  the  circumstance  upon  which  he  always 
seemed  inclined  to  rest  his  fame,  and  which  was  most  dear 
to  his  heart — the  establishment  of  the  Literary  Fund,  he 
had,  so  far  back  as  the  time  of  his  residence  at  Chelsea, 
projected  a  plan  for  the  assistance  of  deserving  authors  in 
distress ;  and  after  several  ineffectual  attempts,  be  so  far 
succeeded  in  1788  and  1789  as  to  found  the  institution, 
and  commence  its  benevolent  operations,  and  with  unre- 
mitting zeal  and  activity  devoted  the  full  force  of  his  abili- 
ties, and  the  greater  part  of  his  time  and  attention,  to 
foster  and  support  the  infant  institution.  He  had  the 
heartfelt  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  continually  rise  in  public 
estimation,  and  at  length  honoured  with  the  illustrious  pa- 
tronage of  his  royal  highness  the  prince  of  Wales,  who 
generously  bestowed  an  annual  donation  for  the  purpose  of 
providing^  house  for  the  use  of  the  society,  and  expressly 
desired  that  Mr.  Williams  should  reside  in  it.  A  singular 
and  striking  work,  written  by  Mr.  Williams  and  several  of 
his  zealous  and  able  coadjutors,  who  each  put  their  names 
to  their  own  several  productions,  was  given  by  the  public 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Claims  of  Literature ;  explanatory 
of  the  Nature,  Formation,  and  Purposes  of  the  Institution." 

During  the  pe^ce  of  Amiens  Mr.  Williams  again  visited 
Paris,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  then  intrusted  with, 
some  confidential  mission  from  the  government  of  his  own 
country,  his  remarkable  figure .  having  previously  been 
noticed  entering  the  houses  of  several  of  the  higher  mem- 
bers of  the  then  administration.  On  his  return  he  published 
a  much  enlarged  edition  of  a  little  work  which  the  alarm  of 
invasion  had  induced  him  to  write,  entitled  "  Regulations 
of  Parochial  Police ;"  and  he  is  thought  to  have  been  the 
author  of  a  sort  of  periodical  publication  which  appeared 
about  that  time  in  numbers,  "  Egeria ;  or  Elementary  Stu- 
dies on  the  Progress  of  Nations  in  Political  Economy, 
Legislation,  and  Government;"  but  which  does  not  ap* 
pear  to  have  been  continued  beyond  the  first  volume* 
The  last  acknowledged  work  that  proceeded  from  his 
prolific  pen  was,  "  Preparatory  Studies  for  Political  Re- 


114  WILLIAMS. 

formers.*'  It  is  curi6us  arid  instructive  to  observe  the 
marked  and  striking  effect  produced  by  his  experience 
of  reform  and  reformers  in  the  struggles  of,  and  conse^ 
quent  upon,  the  French  revolution;  his  diction  retain? 
its  full  vigour,  but  his  anticipations  are  much  less  san- 
guine, and  his  opinions  on  the  pliability  of  the  materials  ore 
wjiich  reformers  are  to  operate,  or  in  other  words,  on  the 
real  character  of  human  nature,  seem  much  changed.  About 
five  years  before  his  death  he  was  seized  with  a  severe  pa- 
ralytic affection,  from  which  he  partially  recovered,  but 
continued  to  suffer  the  gradual  loss  of  his  corfwreal  and 
mental  powers ;  his  memory  becapie  very  considerably 
impaired,  and  for  some  length  of  time  preceding  his  de- 
cease he  was  unable  to  walk  or  move  without  assistance* 
The  tender  assiduities  of  an  affectionate  niece  soothed  the 
sorrows  of  declining  nature,  and  received  from  him  the 
most  affecting  and  frequent  expressions  of  gratitude.  The 
state  of  his  mind  cannot  be  so  well  depicted  as  by  himself 
in  the  following  letter,  one  of  the  last  he  ever  wrote,  and 
addressed  to  a  clergyman  of  the  church  of  England,  in  the 
country : 

"Dear  Sir, 

"  I  am  now  drawing  near  my  end,  and  am  desirous  tor 
conclude  my  days  in  peace.  I  have  outlived  almost  all  my 
t el&tions  and  all-  my  acquaintance ;  and  I  am  desirous  tc>' 
exchange  the  most  sincere  and  cordial  forgiveness  with 
those  I  have  \n  any  sort  offended.  I  bad  once  a  great  re- 
gard for  you ;  why  it  was  not  continued  I  have  forgotten. 
Indeed,  a  paralytic  stroke  has  greatly  destroyed  my  me- 
mory, and  will  soon  destroy  me.  I  take  leave  of  my  Friends* 
and  acquaintance ;  among  others  I  takg  leave  of  you.  I 
greatly  esteemed  you  and  your  worthy  father,  and  I  hope 
you  will  only  remember  what  you  saw  commendable  and 
good  in  me,  and  believe  me  very  sincerely  yours.     D.  W.** 

It  will  readily  be  supposed  that  this  letter  brought  the 
gentleman  immediately  to  town ;  and  his  friendly  offices  of 
kindness  contributed  very  much  during  the  last  two  years 
to  the  comfort  and  consolation  of  his  suffering  friend,  wha 
breathed  his  last  on  Saturday  morning,  the  29  th  of  June 
i£16,  and  was  interred  the  Saturday  following,  in  St. 
Anne's  church,  Soho,  under  this  inscription  : 

David  Williams,  esq.  aged  78  years ; 
-  Founder  of  the  Literary  Fund. 

In  the  words  of  bis  friend,  captain  Thomas  Morris,  "  The 


WILLIAMS.  113 

distinguishing  traits  of  Mr.  Williams's  character  were,  a 
boundless  philanthropy  and  disinterestedness  ;  studious  of 
every  acquisition  that  forms  the  taste,  but  applying  the 
strength  of  his  genius  to  the  arts  of  government  and  edu- 
cation as  objects  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  .welfare 
of  nations  and  the  happiness  of  individuals.  In  his  dress 
elegantly  plain ;  in  domestic  life  attentive  to  the  niceties 
of  decorum ;  in  public  politely  ceremonious ;  in  all  his 
Aann'ers  digniBed  and  distinguished ;  in  conversation  ele- 
vated ;  in  his  person  tall  and  agreeable,  having  a  com- 
manding look  softened  with  affability." 

A  review  of  the  life  and  writings  of  this  remarkably  gifted 
man  strongly  illustrates  the  observation,  that  political  and 
moral  philosophy,  theories  of  government  and  education, 
even  when  displayed  with  splendid  ability,  and  enforced 
with  the  most  engaging  benevolence,  and  with  the  best 
and  most  earnest  motives  of  doing  good,  are  found  by  a 
painful  experience  to  be  wholly  inadequate  to  the  task  of 
reforming  mankind,  if  employed  without  the  aid  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  it  is  the  Gospel  alone  that  can  reach  the  weak  and 
erring  heart  of  man,  and  found  the  reformation  and  inv 
provement  of  societies  upon  the  purity,  the  virtue,  and  the 
piety  of  individuals.  But  to  this  very  necessary  knowledge 
Mr.  Williams  was  a  stranger.  In  early  life  he  appears  to 
have  formed  himself  on  the  model  of  the  Voltaires,  Rous- 
;}eaus}  D'Alemberts,  and  other  French  writers  of  a  similar 
stamp.  They  unfortunately  had  to  operate  on  weak  minds, 
And  produced  incalculable  mischief.  David  Williams,  by 
winging  forward  his  opinions  and  his  schemes  in  a  country 
where  genuine  religion  is  understood,  and  at  all  times  ably 
defended,  sunk  under  the  argument  and  ridicule  which  he 
had  to  encounter,  anil  became  a  harmless  visionary.  * 

WILLIAMS  (Griffith),  bishop  of  0§sory,  in  Ireland, 
was  born  at  Caernarvon,  in  North  Wales,  about  1589.  In 
1603  he  was  sent  to  Oxford  by  his  uncle  ;  but  this  relation 
failing  to  support  him,  he  was,  after  two  years,  received 
at  Cambridge  by  the  kindness  of  a  friend,  and  admitted  of 
Jesus  college,  where  he  took  his  degrees  in  arts,  and  after 
entering  into  holy  orders,  was  appointed  curate  of  Han- 
well,  in  Middlesex.  Afterwards  the  earl  of  Southampton 
gave  him  the  rectory  of  Foscot,  in  Buckinghamshire;  and 
he  was  for  some  years  lecturer  of  St.  Peter's,  Cheapside, 

■  Gent  Ma*.  ▼«'•  LXXXVI. 

Vol.  XXXII.  I 


•ii4  *      Williams. 

London.  While  in  this  situation,  he  informs  us,  u  b» 
persecutions  began  from  the  puritans/'  who  took  offence 
at  something  he  had  preached  and  printed ;  and  it  was  now 
he  published  his  first  book,  called  "  The  Resolution  of  Pi- 
Jate*"v  which  neither  Harris  nor  Wood  mention  among  his 
works ;  and  another  called  "  The  Delight  of  the  Saints. 
A  most  comfortable  treatise  of  grace  and  peace,  and  many 
other  excellent  points.,  whereby  men  may  live  like  saints 
on  earth,  and  become  true  saints  in  heaven,7*  LoncL  1622, 
fol.  reprinted  1635.  His  boldness  in  the  pulpit  raised  him 
many  enemies,  but  their  persecutions  were  for  some  time 
of  no  avail,  until  at  length  they  prevailed  on  the  bishop  of 
London  to  suspend  him.  This  appears  to  have  been  in  his 
twenty-severith  year,  when,  notwithstanding,  he  went  back 
to  Cambridge  and  took  his  degree  of  B.  D.  On  his  return 
to  London  he  found  friends  in  Abbot,  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury,  and  in  the  chancellor  Egerton,  who  gave  him  the 
living  of  Llan-Lecbyd,  in  the  diocese  of  Bangor,  worth 
1002.  and  a  better  rectory  than  what  he  was  suspended  from 
by  the  bishop  of  London.  He  now  found  a  new  enemy. 
Refusing  another  living  in  exchange  for  what  he  had  jus* 
got,  the  bishop  of  Bangor  presented  certain  articles  against 
him  ?t  officio,  and  he  was  again  obliged  to  appeal  to  the 
Arcfies.  The  bishop  of  Bangor  being  in  town,,  the  arch* 
bishop  of  Canterbury  sent  for  them  both,  and  checked  the 
bishop  for  his  prosecution,  and  gave  Mr.  Williams  a  licence 
to  preach  through  several  dioceses  of  his  province. 

After  remaining  four  years  in  the  diocese  of  Bangor,  in 
which  the  bishop's  conduct  made  him  uneasy,  hie  went  to> 
Cambridge,  and  took  his.  degree  of  D.  D.  and  returning  to 
London  became  domestic  chaplain  to  the  earl  of  Mont* 
gomery  (afterwards  earl  of  Pembroke)  and  tutor  to  hfe» 
children,  and  was  promoted  to  be  chaplain  to  the  king, 
prebendary  of  Westminster,  and  deati  of  Bangor,  to  the 
last  of  which  preferments  he  was  instituted  March  28,  1634; 
and  he  held  this  deanery  in  commeudam  till  his  death.  He 
says  that,  "  before  he  was  forty  years  old,  he  narrowly 
escaped  being  elected  bishop  of  St.  Asaph.'*'  He  remained: 
in  the  enjoyment  of  these  preferments  about  twelve  years,, 
and  in  1641  was  advanced  to  the  bishopric  of  Ossory,  but 
the  Irish  rebellion  breaking  out  in  less  than  a  month  after 
his  consecration,  he  was  forced  to  take  refuge  in  England, 
and  joined  the  eourt,  being  in  attendance  on  bis  majesty, 
as  one  of  his  chaplains,  at  the  battle  of  Edg$-hill>  Oct.  23, 


WILLIAMS.  US 

1642.  He  remained  also  with  the  king  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  winter  at  Oxford,  and  then  retired  to  Wales  to 
be  at  more  leisure  to  write  his  "  Discovery  of  Mysteries,* 
or  the  plots  of  the  parliament  to  overthrow  both  church 
and  state/'  published  at  Oxford,  1643,  4to.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  be  published  his  "  Jura  majestatis ;  the  rights 
of  kings  both  in  church  and  state,  granted,  first  by  God, 
secondly,  violated  by  rebels,  and  thirdly,  vindicated  by 
the  truth,9'  Oxford,  4to.  *  lie  had  also  published  in  1643, 
at  the  same  place,  "Vindiciae  re  gum,  or  the  Grand  Re<- 
bellion,"  &c. 

In  the  mean  time  he  was  employed  to  go  to  London  to 
try  to  bring  over  the  earl  of  Pembroke  to  the  royal  cause 
(two  of  whose  sons  were  with  the  king  at  Oxford,  and  had 
been  the  bishop's  pupils).  This  task  he  undertook,  sur- 
rounded as  it  was  with  danger,  and  obnoxious  as  he  knew 
himself  to  be  by  his  publications.  The  negociation  failed, 
and  the  earl  was  so  incensed,  that  Dr.  Williams  had  rea- 
son to  think  he  would  deliver  him  up  to  parliament,  who 
had  recently  ordered  his  last  mentioned  publication  to  be 
burnt.  He  contrived,  therefore,  and  not  without  some 
difficulty,  to  obtain  a  pass  from  the  lord  mayor  of  London, 
"as  a  poor  pillaged  preacher  of  Ireland,"  and  by  this 
means  got  to  Northampton,  and  thence  to  Oxford,  whence 
he  went  first  to  Wales,  and  then  to  Ireland,  where  he  re- 
mained until  after  the  battle  of  Naseby,  in  1645. 

After  this  be  underwent  a  series  of  hardships  for  his 
loyalty,  and  lived  sometimes  in  Wales  and  sometimes  in 
Ireland,  in  a  very  precarious  way,  until  the  restoration. 
As  soon  as  he  heard  the  first  news  of  that  event  he  went  to 
Dublin,  And  preaching  on  the  day  of  his  arrival  at  St. 
Bride's,  was  the  first  man  in  Ireland  who  publicly  prayed 
for  the  king.  He  then  repaired  to  his  diocese,  and  finding 
his  palace  as  well  as  his  cathedral  in  ruins,  set  himself  to 
repair  both,  but  found  many  difficulties,  and  was  involved 
in  many  law-suits  before  he  could  recover  the  revenues 
belonging  to  the  see.  He  appears  to  have  been  perfectly 
disinterested,  for,  besides  what  he  laid  out  on  these  re- 
pairs, he  devoted  the  greater  part  of  his  income  to  cha- 
ritable purposes.  He  died  at  Kilkenny,  March  29,  1672, 
in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  on  the 
south-side  of  the  chancel  of  the  cathedral. 

Bishop  Williams's  other  works  were,  1.  "  Seven  golden 
candlesticks,  holding  the  seven  greatest  lights  of  Christian 

I  2 


116  W.II/LIAM& 

Religion,"  Lond.,1627,  4to.  2.  *  The  True  Church  shewed 
to  all  men  that  desire  to  be  members  of  the  same  :  in  six 
books,  containing  the  whole  body  of  divinity,"  ibid.  1629,. 
fol.  $.' "  The  right  way  to  the  best  Religion;  wherein  is 
largely  explained  the  sum  and  principal  heads  of  the  Gospel* 
in  certain  sermons  and  treatises,"  ibid.  1636,  fol.  4.  "  The 
great  Antichrist  revealed/'  ibid.  1660,  fol.  In  this  he  at- 
tempted to  prove  that  Antichrist  was  neither  pope,  nor 
Turk,  nor  any  one  person,  but  the  party  which  overthrew 
the  church  and  state.  He  published  also  some  other  trea- 
tises arising  from  the  circumstances  of  the  times,  and  many 
sermons  afterwards  published  collectively,  in  1662,  fol. 
and  1666,  4to.  His  most  curious  production,  and  from 
which  the  preceding  circumstances  of  his  life  are  taken,  is 
entitled  "  The  persecution  and  oppression  of  John  Bale, 
and  Griffith  Williams,  bishops  of  Ossory,"  Lond.  1664, 
4to.  In  this  he  institutes  a  parallel  between  bishop  Bale 
and  himself,  as  promoted  to  the  same  see  at  the  mere  mo- 
tion of  kings,  without  any  interest  or  application  ;  both 
violently  expelled  from  the  same  house ;  both  their  perse- 
cutions occasioned  by  their  pulpit  performances;  the  one 
by  popish,  the  other  by  puritan  adversaries  ;>  both  their 
dangers  by  sea  were  great ;  both  persecuted  by  false  ac- 
cusers ;  to  which  Mr.  Harris  adds,  "  the  same  licentious 
spirit  of  railing  appears  in  their  writings,  which  tyb  apology 
can  excuse."  ! 

WILLIAMS  (John),  an  English  prelate  of  great  abilities 
end  very  distinguished  character.,  was  the  youngest  son  of 
Edward  Williams,  esq.  of  Aber-Conway,  in  Caernarvon- 
shire, in  Wales,  where  he  was  born  March  25,  1582.  He 
Was  educated  at  the  public  school  at  Ruthin,  in  1598,  and 
at  sixteen  years  of  age  admitted  at  St.  John's  college,  in 
Cambridge.  His  natural  parts  were  very  uncommon,  and 
his  application  still  more  so j  for  he  was  of  so  singular  and 
happy  a  constitution,  that  from  his  youth  upwards  he  never 
required  more  than  three  hours  sleep  out  of  the  twenty- 
four  for  the  purposes  of  perfect  health.  He  took' the  de- 
gree of  A.  B.  in  1602,  and  was  made  fellow  of  his  college  -f 
yet  this  first  piece  of  preferment  was  obtained  by  a  manda- 
mus from  James  I.  His  manner  of  studying  had  something 
particular  in  it.  He  used  to  allot  one  month  to  a  certain 
province,  esteeming  variety  almost  as  refreshing  as  cessa- 

1  Aib.  Ox.  vol.  II.— Harris's  edition  of  Ware's  Works, 


WILLIAMS.  117 

tiofi  from  labour;  at  the  end  of  which  he  would  take  qp 
some  other  subject,  and  so  on,  till  he  came  round,  to  his 
former  courses.  This  method  he  observed,  especially  in 
his  theological  studies;  and  he  found  his  account  in  it.  He 
was  also  an  exact  philosopher,  as  well  as  ah  able'  divine, 
and  admirably  versed  in  all  branches  of  literature.  In  1605, 
when  he  took  hi*  master's  degree,  he  entertained  bis  friends 
at  the  commencement  in  a  splendid  manner,  for  he  was 
naturally  generous,  and  was  liberally  supplied  with  money 
by  his  friends  and  patrons.  John  lord  Lumley  often  fur* 
nished  him  both  with  books  and  money  ;  and  Dr.  Richard 
Vaughan,  bishop  of  London,  who  was  related  to  him,  gave 
him  an  invitation  to  spend  his  time  at  his  palace  at  vacation 
times.  Being  thus  introduced  into  the  best  company,  con- 
tributed greatly  towards  polishing  bis  manners. 

He  was  not,  however,  so  much  distinguished  for  his 
learning,  as  for  his  dexterity  and  skill  in  business.  When 
he  was  no  more  than  five  and  twenty,  he  was  employed  by 
the  college  in  some  concerns  of  theirs  ;  on  which  occasions 
he  was  sometimes  admitted  to  speak  before  archbishop 
Bancroft,  wh6  was  exceedingly  taken  with  his  engaging 
wit  and  decent  behaviour.  Another  time  he  was  deputed, 
by  the  masters  and  fellows  of  his  college,  their  agent  to 
court,  to  petition  the  king  for  a  mortmain,  a*  an  increase 
of  their  maintenance;  on  this  occasion  he  succeeded  iu  his 
suit,  and  was  taken  particular  notice  of  by  the  king ;  for, 
there  was  something  in  him  which  his  majesty  liked  so  well, 
that  he  told  him  of  it  long  after  when  he  came  to  be  bis 
principal  officer.  He  entered  into  orders  in  his  twenty* 
seventh  year ;  and  took  a  small  living,  which  lay  beyond 
St.  Edmund's  Bury,  upon  the  confines  of  Norfolk.  In 
1611  he  was  instituted  to  the  rectory  of  Grafton  Regis,  in 
Northamptonshire,  at  the  king's  presentation ;  and  the 
same  year  was  recommended  to  the  lord-chancellor  Eger- 
ton  for  his  chaplain,  but  obtained  leave  of  the  chancellor 
to  continue  one  year  longer  at  Cambridge,  in  order  to 
serve  the  office  of  proctor  of  the  university.  While  Mr. 
Williams  was  in  this  post,  the  duke  of  Wirtemberg  and  his 
train  happened  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  university.  The  duke 
having  the  reputation  of  a  learned  prince,  it  was  thought 
proper  to  entertain  him  with  learned  disputations.  Mr. 
Williams  being  on  this  occasion  president  or  moderator, 
performed  his  part  with  equal  skill  and  address.  Out  of 
compliment  to  the  duke  he  confirmed  all  his  reasons  with 


It8  WILLIAMS. 

quotations  from,  the  eminent  professors  of  the  German  tini- 
rersities,  which  was  so  acceptable  to  the  duke  and  his  re- 
tinue, that  they  would  not  part  with  Mr.  Williams  from 
their  company  while  they  continued  at  Cambridge,  and 
afterwards  .carried  him  with  them  to  the  palace  at  New- 
market, and  acquainted  the  king  with  the  honour  he  had 
done  to  the  literati  of  their  country.  The  following  year 
Mr.  Williams  took  the  degree  of  B.  D,  and  afterward? 
chiefly  resided  in  the  house  of  his  patron,  lord  Egerton, 
who  advised  with  him  on  many  occasions,  and  testified  his 
regard  for  him  by  various  promotions,  particularly  the 
reetory  of  Grafton  Underwood,  in  Northamptonshire ;  afed 
in  1613  he  was  made  precentor  of  Lincoln;  rector  of 
Waldgrave,  in  Northamptonshire,  in  1614;  and  between 
that  year  and  1617  was  collated  to  a  prebend  and  resi- 
dentiaryship  in  the  church  of  Lincoln,  and  to  prebends  in 
those  of  Peterborough,  Hereford,  and  St:  David's,  besides 
a  sinecure  in  North  Wales. 

The  chancellor  Egerton  dying  the  15th  of  March,  1616* 
17,  gave  Williams  some  books  and  papers,  all  written  with 
bis  own  hand.  His  lordship,  upon  the  day  of  his  death, 
called  Williams  to  him,  and  told  him  "  that  if  he  wanted 
money  be  would  leave  him  such  a  legacy  in  his  will  as 
should  enable  him  to  begin  the  world  like  a  gentleman." 
"  Sir/9  days  Williams,  "  I  kiss  your  hands :  you  have  filled 
my  cup  full ;  I  am  far  from  want,  unless  it  be  of  your 
lordship's  directions  how  to  live  in  the  world  if  I  survive 
you."  "  Well,"  said  the  chancellor,  "  I  know  you  are 
an  expert. workman  ;  take  these  tools  to  work  with;  they 
are  the  best  I  have ;"  and  so  gave  him  the  books  and  papers. 
Bishop  Hacket  says  that  he  saw  the  notes ;  and  that  they 
were  collections  for  the  well-ordering  the  high  court  of 
parliament,  the  court  of  chancery,  the  star-chamber,  and 
the  council-board :  so  that  be  had  a  good  stock  tp  set  qp 
with  ;  and  Hacket  does  not  doubt  but  his  system  of  politics 
was  drawn  from  chancellor  Egetton's  papers. 

When  s\r  Francis  Bacon  was  made  lord  keeper,  he  of- 
fered to  continue  Williams  his  chaplain ;  who,  however, 
declining  it,  was  made  a  justice  of  the  peace  by  bis  lord- 
ship for  the  county  of  Northampton.  He  was  made  king's 
chaplain  at  the  same  time,  and  had  orders  to  attend  his 
majesty  in  his  northern  progress,  which  was  to  begin  soon 
after  ;  but  the  bishop  of  Winchester  got  leave  for  bim  to 
stay  and  to  take  his  doctor's  degree,  for  the  sake  of  giving 


WILLIAMS.  119 

entertainment  to  Marco  Antonio  de  Dominis,  archbishop 
ofSpalato,  who  was  lately  come  to  England,  and  desigped 
to  be  at  Cambridge  the  commencement  following.  The 
questions  which  he  maintained  for  his  degree  were,  "  Su- 
premus  magistratus  non  estexcommunicabilis,"  and  "Sub- 
ductio  calicis  est  mutilatio  sacramenti  et  sacerdotii."  Dr. 
Williams  now  retired  to  his  rectory  ofWaldgrave,  where 
he  had  been  at  the  expence,  before  he  came,  of  building, 
gardening,  and  planting,  to  render  it  an  agreeable  resi- 
dence. He  bad  also  provided  a  choice  collection  of  books, 
which  he  studied  with  his  usual  diligence.  As  a  minister 
he  was  very  attentive  to  the  duties  of  bis  function.  He 
read  prayers  constantly  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  and 
preached  twice  every  Sunday  at  Waldgrave,  or  at  Grafton ; 
performing  in  bis  turn  also  at  Kettering,  in  a  lecture 
preached  by  an  association  of  the  best  divines  in  that 
neighbourhood.  It  was  a  common  saying  with  him,  that 
"  the  way  to  gee  the  credit  from  the  nonconformists  was, 
to  put-preach  them."  And  his  preaching  was  so  much 
liked  that  his  church  used  to  be  thronged  with  the  gentry 
of  the  neighbouring  parishes  as  well  as  his  own.  In  the 
mean  time,  he  was  most  of  all  distinguished  for  his  ex- 
tensive charities  to  the  poor ;  tbe  decrepid,  the  aged,  the 
widow,  and  the  fatherless,  were  sure  of  a  welcome  share  in 
"  his  hospitality. 

In  1619  Dr.  Williams  preached  before  tbe  king  on  Matth. 
ii.  8,  and  printed  his  sermon  by  bis  majesty's  order.  The 
same  year  he  was  collated  to  the  deanery  of  Salisbury,  and 
the  year  after  removed  to  the  deanery  of  Westminster.  He 
obtained  this  preferment  by  the  interest  of  the  marquis  of 
Buckingham,  whom  for  some  time  he  neglected  to  court, 
says  bishop  Hacket,  for  two  reasons;  first,  because  he 
mightily  suspected  the  continuance  of  tbe  marquis  in  fa- 
vour at  court ;  secondly,  because  be  saw  that  the  marquis 
was  very  apt  suddenly  to  look  cloudy  upon  his  creatures, 
as  if  he  had  raised  them  up  on  purpose  to  cast  them  down. 
However,'  once,  when  the  doctor  was  attending  the  king, 
in  the  absence  pf  the  marquis,  his  majesty  asked  him 
abruptly,  and  without  any  relation  to  the  discourse  then  in 
hand,  "  When  he  was  at  Buckingham  ?"  "  Sir,"  said  the 
doctor,  "  I  have  had  no  business  to  resort  to  his  lordship." 
"But,"  replied  tbe  king,  " wheresoever  he  is,  you  must 
go  to  him  about  my  business ;"  which  be  accordingly  did, 
and  tbe  marquis  received  him  courteously.     He  took  this 


120  WILLIAMS. 

as  a  hint  from  the  king  to  visit  the  marquis,  to  whom  he 
was  afterwards  serviceable  in  furthering  his  marriage  with 
the  great  heiress,  the  earl  of  Rutland's  daughter.  He  re- 
claimed her  ladyship  from  the  errors  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  to  the  faith  and  profession  of  the  Church  of  England ; 
in  order  to  which  he  drew  up  the  elements  of  the  true  re- 
ligion for  her  use,  and  printed  twenty  copies  of  it  with  no 
name,  only,  "By  an  old  prebend  of  Westminster." 

The  lord  chancellor  Bacon  being  removed  from  his  office 
in  May  1621,  Williams  was  made  lord  keeper  of  the  gFeat 
seal  of  England,  the  10th  of  July  following  ;  and  the  same 
month  bishop  of  Lincoln,  with  the  deanery  of  Westminster, 
and  the  rectory  of  Wakl grave,  in  commendam.  ~  When  the 
great  seal  was  brought  to  the  king  from  lord  Bacon,  his 
majesty  was  overheard  by  some  near  him  to  say,  upon  the 
delivery  of  it  to  hirri,  "  Now  by  my  soule,  1  am  pained  at 
the  heart  where  to  bestow  this ;  for,  as  to  my  lawyers,  I 
thinke  they  be  all  knaves.19     In  this  high  office  bishop  Wil- 
liams discharged  his  duties  with  eminent  ability,  and  witfi 
extraordinary  diligence  and  assiduity.     It  is  said  by  Hac- 
ket,  that  when  oi^r  prelate  first  entered  upon  the  office,  he 
had  such  a  load  of  business,  that  he  was  forced  to  sit  by 
candle-light  in  the  court  of  chancery  two  hours  before 
day,   and  to  remain  there  till  between  eight  and  nine; 
after  which  he  repaired   to  the  House  of  Peers,   where 
he  sat  as  speaker  till  twelve  or  one  every  day.     After  a 
short  repast  at  home,  he  then  returned  to  hear  the  causes 
in  chancery,  which  he  could  not  dispatch  in  the  morning  ; 
or  if  he  attended  the  council  at  Whitehall,  he  came  back 
towards  evening,  and  followed  his  chancery  business  till 
eight  at  night,  and  later.     After  this  when  he  came  borne, 
he  perused  what  papers  his  secretary  brought  to  him  ;  and 
when  that  was  done,  though  late  in  the  night,  he  prepared 
himself  for  the  business  which  was  to  be  transacted  next 
morning  in  the  House  of  Lords.     And  it  is  said  that  when 
he  had  been  one  year  lord  keeper,  he  had  finally  concluded 
more  causes  than  had  been  decided  in  the  preceding  seven 
years.     In  the  Star-chamber  he  behaved  with  more  lenity 
and  moderation   in  general,    than  was  usual  among  the 
judges  of  that  court     He  would  excuse  himself  from  in- 
flicting any  severe  corporal  punishment  upon  an  offender, 
by  saying  that  "  councils  had  forbidden  bishops  from  med- 
dling with  blood  in  a  judicial  form."     In  pecuniary  fines  he 
was  also  very  lenient,  and  very  ready  to  remit  his  own  share 


WILLIAMS.  121 

in  fines.  Of  this  we  have  the  following  instance.  Sir 
Francis  Inglefield  had  asserted  before  witnesses,  that  "  he 
could  prove  this  holy  bishop  judge  had  been  bribed  by  some 
that  had  fared  well  in  their  causes."  The  lord  keeper  im- 
mediately called  upon  sir  Francis  to  prove  his  assertion, 
which  he  being  unable  to  do,  was  fined  some  thousand 
pounds  to  be  paid  to  the  king  and  the  injured  party.  Soon 
after  bishop  Williams  sent  for  sir  Francis,  and  told  him  he 
would  give  him  a  demonstration  that  he  was  above  a  bribe ; 
and  u  for  my  part,"  said  he,  "  I  forgive  you  every  penny  of 
my  fine,  and  will  beg  of  his  majesty  to  do  the  same."  This 
piece  of  generosity  made  sir  Francis  acknowledge  bis  fault, 
and  he  wjis  afterwards  received  into  some  degree  of  friend- 
ship and  acquaintance  with  the  lord  keeper.  Weldon's 
charge  of  corruption  against  Williams  seems  to  be  equally 
ill  founded,  nothing  of  the  kind  having  ever  been  proved. 

Bishop  Williams  was  very  desirous  of  keeping  upon  good 
terms  with  the  favourite  Buckingham,  but  it  appears,  not- 
withstanding, that  he  withstood  him  when  be  had  just  rea- 
son for  it.  He  sometimes  also  gave  Buckingham  good  ad* 
vice,  which  being  delivered  with  freedom,  could  not  be  verji 
acceptable  to.  the  haughty  favourite.  His  resolution  in 
opposing  Buckingham's  designs,  when  he  saw  weighty  rea- 
sons for  it,  was  so  remarkable  that  the  king  used  to  say, 
that  "  he  was  a  stout  man,  and  durst  do  more  than  himself.1* 
James  sometimes  really  appeared  afraid  of  openly  express- 
ing his  dislike  at  such  of  Buckingham's  actions  as  he  really 
disapproved ;  and  we  are  told  that  his  majesty  thanked 
God,  that  be  had  put  Williams  into  the  place  of  lord 
keeper ;  "  for,"  said  he,  <c  he  that  will  not  wrest  justice 
for  Buckingham's  sake,  whom  be  loves,  will  never  be 
corrupted  with  money  which  he  never  loved."  And  be- 
cause the  lord  keeper  bad  lived  for  the  space  of  three  years 
upon  the  bare  revenues  of  his  office,  and  was  not  richer  by 
the  sale  of  one  cursitor's  place  in  all  that  time,  his  majesty 
gave  him  a  bountiful  new-year's  gift,  thinking  that  it  was 
but  reasonable  to  encourage,  by  his  liberality,  a  man  who 
never  sought  after  wealth  by  the  sordid  means  of  extortion 
or  bribery. 

The  lord  keeper  made  use  of  his  influence  with  the  king, 
in  behalf  of  several  noblemen  who  were  under  the  royal 
displeasure  and  in  confinement.  He  prevailed  with  his 
majesty  to  set  at  liberty  the  earl  of  Northumberland,  who 
had  been, fifteen  years  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower.   '  He  pfo-, 


122  WILLIAMS. 

cured  also  the  enlargement  of  tbe  earls  of  Oxford  and 
Arundel,  both  of  whom  had  been  a  considerable  time  under 
confinement.  He  employed  likewise  his  good  offices  with 
the  king,  in  behalf  of  many  others  of  inferior  rank,  parti- 
cularly some  clergymen  who  offended  by  their  pulpit  free- 
doms. One  instance  we  shall  extract  from  his  principal 
biographer,  as  a  proof  of  his  address,  and  knowledge  of 
king  James's  peculiar  temper.  A  Mr.  Knight,  a  young  di- 
vine at  Oxford,  had  advanced  in  a  sermon  somewhat  which 
was  said  to  be  derogatory  to  the  king's  prerogative.  For 
this  he  was  a  long  time  imprisoned,  and  a  charge  was  about 
to  be  drawn  up  against  him,  tp  impeach  him  for  treason- 
able doctrine.  One  Dr.  White,  a  clergyman  far  advanced 
in  years,  was  likewise  in  danger  of  a  prosecution  of  the 
same  kind.  Bishop  Williams  was  very  desirous  of  bring* 
ing  both  these  gentlemen  off,  and  hit  on  the  following  con- 
trivance. Some  instructions  had  been  appointed  to  be 
drawn  up  by  his  care  apd  direction,  for  the  performance.of 
useful  and  orderly  preaching ;  which  being  under  his  hand 
to  dispatch,  he  now  besought  bis  majesty  that  this  proviso 
plight  pass  among  the  rest,  that  none  of  the  clergy  should 
be  permitted  to  preach  before  the  age  of  thirty  years,  nor 
ftfter  three-score.  "  On  my  soul,"  said  the  king,  "  tbe 
devil,  or  some  fit  of  madness  is  in  the  motion  ;  for  I  have 
many  great  wits,  and  of  clear  distillation,  that  have  preached 
before  me  at  Royston  and  Newmarket  to  my  great  liking, 
that  are  under  thirty.  And  my  prelates  and  chaplains, 
that  are  far  stricken  in  years,  are  the  best  masters  of  that 
faculty  that  Europe  affords."  "  I  agree  to  all  this,"  an- 
swered the  lord  keeper,  "  and  since  your  majesty  will 
pillow  both  young  and  old  to  go  up  into  the  pulpit,  it  is 
but  justice  that  you  shew  indulgence  to  the  young  ones  if 
they  run  into  errors  before  their  wits  be  settled  (fpr  every 
apprentice  is  allowed  to  mar  some  work  before  \ie  be  cun- 
ning in  the  mystery  of  his  trade),  and  pity  to  the  old  ones, 
if  some  of  them  fall  into  dotage  when  their  brains  grow, 
dry.  Will  your  majesty  conceive  displeasure,  and  not  lay 
it  down;  if  the  former  set  your  teeth  on  edge  sometimes, 
before  they  are  mellow-wise ;  and  if  the  doctrine  of  the 
latter  be  touched  with  a  blemish,  when  they  begin  to  be 
rotten,  and.  to  drop  from  the  tree  •'"  "  This  is  not  unfit  for 
consideration,"  said  the  king,  "  but  what  do  you  drive  at  ?" 
"  Shr,"  replied  Williams,  "  first  to  beg  your  pardon  for 
mine  own  boldness ;  then  to  remember  you  that  Knight  is 


WILLIAMS.  123 

r 

a  beardless  boy,  from  whom  exactness  of  judgment  could 
not  be  expected.  And  that  White  is  a  decrepit,  spent 
man,  who  had  not  a  fee-simple,  but  a  lease  of  reason,  and 
it  is  expired.  Both  these  that  have  been  foolish  in  their 
several  extremes  of  years,  I  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  your 
princely  clemency."  In  consequence  of  this  application, 
king  James  readily  granted  a  pardon  to  both  of  them- 

Bishop  Williams  continued  in  favour  during  this  reign, 
and  attended  king  James  at  his  death,  and  preached  his 
funeral-sermon,  on  2  Chrbn.  ix.  29,  30,  3 1 ,  which  was  after- 
wards printed.  That  king  had  promised  to  confer  upon 
him  the  archbishopric  of  York  at  the  next  vacancy ;  but 
bis  lordship's  conduct  in  many  points  not  being  agreeable 
to  the  duke  of  Buckingham,  he  was  removed  by  Charles 
I.  from  bis  post  of  lord  keeper,  Oct.  1626.  He  was  ordered 
also  not  to  appear  in  parliament,  but  refused  to  comply 
with  that  order,  and  taking  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Peers, 
promoted  the  petition  of  right. 

For  four  years  after  Williams  was  consecrated  bishop 
of  Lincoln,  the  multiplicity  of  his  affairs  prevented  his 
visitipg  his  clergy,  yet  bis  government,  it  is  said,  was  such 
as  to  give  content  to  his  whole  diocese.  He  managed  the 
affairs  of  it  with  the  greatest  exactness  by  faithful  substi- 
tutes,, who  gave  him  a  just  account  of  all  matters,  so  that 
he  knew  the  name  and  character  of  every  one  of  his  clergy, 
and  took  care  to  encourage  the  deserving.  When  now, 
however,  he  came  to  Bugden,  he  found  it  necessary  to 
repair  his  house,  and  the  chapel,  which  be  did  at  a  great 
expence,  and  in  a  magnificent  manner.  The  concourse 
that  reported  to  this  chapel  was  very  great ;  and  his  table 
was  generally  well  filled  with  gentry,  so  that  the  historian 
Sanderson,  who  is  no  friend  to  Williams,  said,  that  "  he 
lived  at  Bugden  more  episcopally  than  any  of  his  prede- 
cessors." All  the  great  persons  and  nobility  who  bad  oc- 
casion to  travel  that  way,  used  to  call  upon  his  lordship, 
from  whom  they  and  their  retinue  were  sure  of  a  hearty 
welcome,  and  the  best  entertainment.  All  the  neighbour- 
ing clergy  also,  and  many  of  the  yeomanry,  were  free  to 
come  to  his  table,  and,  indeed,  he  seldom  sat  down  with- 
out some  of  the  clergy.  He  was  also  extremely  charitable 
to  the  poor,  and  used  to  say,  that  "  he  would  spend  hi* 
own  while  he  had  it;  for  he  thought  his  adversaries  would 
not  permit  him  long  to  enjoy  it/'  Had  he  not  lived  i  n  thi?  hos- 
pitable manner,  yet  his  conversation,  and  agreeable  man^ 


124  WILLIAMS. 

ner  of  accommodating  himself  to  his  guests,  were  so  gene- 
rally pleasing,  that  he  was  not  likely  to  be  much  alone. 
Many  members  of  both  universities,  the  most  distinguished 
for  their  wit  and  learning,  made  him  frequent  visits ;  so 
lhat  very  often,  taking  the  company  and  entertainment 
together,  Bugden  was  said  to  resemble  one  of  the  univer- 
sities in  commencement  time.  It  was  his  custom,  at  his 
table,  to  have  a  chapter  in  the  English  Bible  read  daily  at 
dinner  by  one  of  the  choristers,  and  another  at  supper  in 
Latin  by  one  of  his  gentlemen. 

This  hospitable  and  splendid  manner  of  living  gave  of- 
fence to  the  court,  as  he  was  publicly  known  to  be  out  of 
favour  there.  It  was  said,  that  such  a  mode  of  living  was 
very  improper  for  a  man  in  disgrace.  To  which  he  re- 
plied, that  "  he  knew  not  what  he  had  done,  to  live  the 
worse  for  their  sakes,  who  did  not  love  him."  His  family 
was  the  nursery  of  several  noblemen's  sons;  particularly 
those  of  the  marquis  of  Hertford,  and  of  the  earls  of  Pem- 
broke, Salisbury,  and  Leicester.  These,  together  with 
many  other  young  gentlemen,  had  tutors  assigned  them, 
of  whom  our  prelate  took  an  account,  how  their  pupils 
improved  in  virtue  and  learning.  To  those  who  were 
about  to  be  removed  to  the  universities,  before  he  parted 
with  them,  he  read  himself  a  brief  system  of  logic,  which 
lectures  .even  his  own  servants  might  attend  who  were  ca- 
pable of  such  instruction :  and  he  took  particular  care 
that  they  should  be  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  principles 
of  religion.  He  was  exceedingly  liberal  to  poor  scholars 
in  both  universities;  and  his  disbursements  this  way  are' 
said  every  year  to  have  amounted  to  a  thousand,  ami 
sometimes  to  twelve  hundred  pounds.  He  was  also  very 
generous  to  learned  foreigners.  When  Dr.  Peter  du  Mou- 
lin fled  to  England,  to  avoid  persecution  in  France,  bishop 
Williams  hearing  of  him,  sent  his  chaplain,  Dr.  Hacket,  to 
pay  him  a  visit,  and  supposing  that  he  might  be  in  want, 
bade  him  carry  him  some  money,  not  naming  any  sum. 
Hacket  said,  that  he  supposed  he  could  not  give  him  less 
than  twenty  pounds.  "  I  did  demur  upon  the  sum,"  said 
the  bishop,  "  to  try  you.  Is  twenty  pounds  a  fit  gift  for 
me  to  give  to  a  man  of  bis  parts  and  deserts  ?  Take  an 
hundred,  and  present  it  from  me,  and  tell  him,  he  shall 
not  want,  and  I  will  come  shortly  and  visit  him  myself ;" 
which  he  afterwards  did,  and  supplied  Du  Moulin's  wants 
while  he  was  in  England.     He  was  also  a  liberal  patron  of 


WILLIAMS,  125 

kis  countryman  John  Owpn,  the  epigrammatist,  whom 
Me  maintained  for  several  years,  and  when  he  died  be 
buried  him,  and  erected  a  monument  for  him  at  his  own 
expence. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  duke  of  Buckingham  was  not  con- 
tent; with  having  removed  our  prelate  from  all  power  at 
court,  but  for  a  long  time  laboured  to  injure  him,  although 
some  time  before  his  death  he  appears  to  have  been  rather 
reconciled  to  him.  .  With  Laud,  however,  Williams  found 
all  reconciliation  impossible,  for  which  it  is  not  easy  to 
assign  any  cause,  unless  that  their  political  principles  were 
in  some  respects  incompatible,  and  that  Laud  was  some- 
what jealous  of  the  ascendancy  which  Williams  might  ac- 
quire, if  again .  restored  at  court.  In  consequence  of  this 
animosity,  besides  being  deprived  of  the  title  of  privy- 
counsellor,  Williams  was  perpetually  harassed  with  law- 
suits and  prosecutions;  and  though  nothing  criminal  could 
be  proved  against  him,  yet  he  was,  by  these  means,  put 
to  great  trouble  and  expence.  Amongst  other  prosecu- 
tions, one  arose  from  the  following  circumstances,  as  re- 
lated by  bis  biographer  Hacket,  "  In  the  conference 
which  the  bishop  had  with  his  majesty,  when  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  kiss  bis  hand,  after  the  passing  of  the  petition  of 
Right,  the  king  conjuring  his  lordship  to  tell  him  freely, 
how  he  might  best  ingratiate  himself  with  the  people,  his 
lordship  replied,  '  that  the  Puritans  were  many  and  strong 
sticklers ;  and  if  his  majesty  would  give  but  private  orders 
to  his  ministers  to  connive  a  little  at  their  party,  and  shew 
them  some  indulgence,  it  might  perhaps  mollify  them  a  lit- 
tle, and  make  them  more  pliant ;  though  he  did  not  promise 
that  they  would  be  trusty  long  to  any  government.'  And 
the  king  answered,  that  'he  had  thought  upon  this  before, 
and  would  do  so.'  About  two  months  after  this,  the  bishop 
at  his  court  at  Leicester  acted  according  to  this  counsel 
resolved  upon  by  his  majesty ;  and  witbal  told  sir  John 
Lamb  and  Dr.  Sibthorp  his  reason  for  it,  '  that  it  was  not 
only  his  own,  but  the  Royal  pleasure.'  Now  Lamb  was 
one,  who  had  been  formerly  infinitely  obliged  to  the  bishop : 
but,  however,  a  breach  happening  between  them,  he  and 
Sibthorp  carried  the  bishop's  words  to  bishop  Laud,  and 
he  to  the  king,  who  was  then  at  Bisham.  Hereupon  it 
was  resolved,  that  upon  the  deposition  of  these  two,  a  bill 
should  be  drawn  up  against  the  bishop  for  revealing  the 
king's  secrets,  being  a  sworn  counsellor.     That  hi  form  a- 


126  WILLIAMS. 

tion,  together  with  some  others,  being  transmitted'  to  the 
council-table,  was  ordered  for  the  present  to  be  sealed 
top,  and  committed  to  the  custody  of  Mr.  Trumbal,  one 
of  the  clerks  of  the  council.  Nevertheless  the  bishop  made 
a  shift  to  procure  a  copy  of  them.  And  so  the  business 
rested  for  some  years.  However,  the  bishop  was  still 
more  and  more  declining  in  favour,  by  reason  of  a  settled 
misunderstanding  between  him  and  bishop  Laud,  who  looked 
upon  Williams  as  a  man  who  gave  encouragement  to  the 
Puritans,  and  was  cool  with  respect  to  our  church-disci- 
pline ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Williams  took  Laud  to 
be  a  great  favourer  of  the  papists.  Laud's  interest  at  court 
was  n6w  so  great,  that  in  affairs  of  state,  as  well  as  of  the 
church,  he  governed  almost  without  controui;  so  that  a 
multitude  of  lesser  troubles  surrounded  bishop  Williams, 
and  several  persons  attacked  him  with  a  view  to  ingratiate 
themselves  at  court.  Abundance  of  frivolous  accusation 
and  little  vexatious  law-suits  were  brought  against  him 
daily ;  and  it  was  the  height  of  his  adversaries  policy  to 
empty  his  purse,  and  clip  his  wings,  by  all  the  means  they 
could  invent,  that  so  at  last  he  might  He  wholly  at  their 
mercy,  and  not  be  able  to  shift  for  himself.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  which,  what  with  his  innocency,  and  what  with  hk 
courage  springing  from  it,  he  bore  up  against  them  all, 
and  never  shewed  any  grudge  or  malice  against  them.  But 
his  lordship,  perceiving  himself  to  be  thus  perpetually 
harassed,  asked  the  lord  Cottington,  whether  he  could  tell 
him,  what  he  should  do  to  procure  his  peace,  and  such 
other  ordinary  favours  as  other  bishops  bad  from  his  ma- 
jesty. To  which  the  lord  Cottington  answered,  that  the 
splendor  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  great  resort  of  com- 
pany which  came  to  him,  gave  offence ;  and  that  the  king 
must  needs  take  it  ill,  that  one  under  the  height  of  his 
displeasure  should  live  at  so  magnificent  a  rate.  In  the 
next  place,  his  majesty  would  be  better  satisfied,  if  he 
would  resign  the  deanery  of  Westminster,  because  he  did 
not  care  that  he  should  be  so  near  a  neighbour  at  White- 
hall. As  for  the  first  of  these  reasons,  his  natural  temper 
would  not  suffer  him  to  comply  with  it,  and  to  moderate 
his  expences  in  house-keeping ;  and  he  was  not  so  short- 
sighted as  to  part  with  his  deanery  upon  such  precarious 
terms;  "for,"  said  he,  "  what  health  can  come  from  such 
a  remedy  ?  Am  I  like  to  be  beholden  to  them  for  a  settled 
tranquillity,  who  practise  upon  the  ruin  of  my  estate,  and 


WILLIAMS.  127 

the  tbrall  of  my  honour  ?  If  I  forfeit  one  preferment  for  fear, 
will  it  not  encourage  them  to  tear  cpe  in  piecemeal  here- 
after? It  is  "not  my  case  alone,  but  every  man's ;  and  jf 
the  law  cannot  maintain  my  right,  it  can  maintain  no 
man's."  So,  in  spite  of  all  their  contrivances  to  out  him, 
he  kept  the  deanery  till  the  king  received  it  from  him  at 
Oxford  in  1644,  But  they  did  all  they  could,  since  he 
was  resolved  to  hold  it,  to  make  him  as  uneasy  as  possible 
in  it.  In  this  uneasy  situation  he  continued  several  years; 
and  now,  it  was  sufficiently  known  to  all  people  how  much 
he  was  out  of  favour  ;  so  that  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  piece 
of  merit  to  assist  in  his  ruin.  And  this  perhaps  might  be 
some  incitement  to  what  sir  Robert  Osborn,  high  sheriff  of 
Huntingdonshire,  acted  against  him  in  the  levying  of  the 
ship-money.  The  bishop,  for  his  part,  was  very  cautious 
to  carry  himself  without  offence  in  this  matter ;  but  sir  Ro- 
bert, laying  a  very  unequal  levy  upon  the  hundred  wherein 
Bugden  was,  the  bishop  wrote  courteously  to  him  to  rectify 
it,  and  that  he  and  his  neighbours  would  be  ready  to  see 
it  collected.  Upon  this  sir  Robert,  catching  at  the  op- 
portunity, posts  up  to  the  court,  and  makes  an  heavy  com- 
plaint against  the  bishop,  that  he  not  only  refused  the 
payment  of  ship-money  himself,  but  likewise  animated  the 
hundred  to  do  so  too.  And  yet  for  all  that,  when  the  bi- 
shop afterwards  cleared  himself  before  the  lords  of  the 
council,  and  they  were  satisfied  that  he  had  behaved  him- 
self with  duty  and  prudence,  sir  Robert  was  not  repre- 
hended, nor  had  the  bishop  any  satisfaction  given  him,  nor 
was  the  levy  regulated.  After  this,  wa&  revived  the  long 
and  troublesome  trial  against  the  bishop  in  the  Star-cham- 
ber, which  commenced  in  the  fourth  year  of  king  Charles  I. 
upon  some  informations  brought  against  him  by  Lamb  and 
Stbthorp.  Here  he  made  so  noble  a  defence  of  himself, 
that  the  attorney- general,  Noy,  grew  weary  of  the  cause, 
and  slackened  bis  prosecution  ;  but  that  great  lawyer  dying, 
and  the  information  being  managed  by  Kilvert  a  solicitor, 
the  bishop,  when  the  business  came  to  a  final  determina- 
tion, was  fined  10,000/.  to  the  king,  and  to  suffer  impri- 
sonment during  bis  majesty's  pleasure,  and  withal  to  be 
suspended  by  the  high  commission  court  from  itll  his  dig- 
nities, offices,  and  functions.  In  his  imprisonment  in  the 
Tower,  hearing  that  his  majesty  would  not  abate  any  thing 
of  his  fine,  he  desired  that  it  might  be  taken  up  by  1000/. 
yearly,  as  his  estate  would  bear  it,  till  the  whole  should 


128  W.ILLIAM  S. 

* 

be  paid  ;  but  he  could  not  have  so  small  a  favour  granted. 
Upon  which  Kilvert,  the  bishop's  avowed  enemy,  was  or- 
dered to  go  to  Bugden  and  Lincoln,  and  there  to  seize 
upon  all  he  could,  and  bring  it  immediately  into  the  ex- 
chequer. Kilvert,  being  glad  of  this  office,  made  sure  of  all 
that  could  be  found ;  goods  of  all  sorts,  plate,  books,  and 
such  like,  to  the  value  of  10,000/.  of  which  he  never  gave 
account  but  of  800/.  The  timber  he  felled;  killed  the 
deer  in  the  park;  sold  an  organ,  which  cost  120/.  for  10/.; 
pictures,  which  cost  400/.  for  5/.;  made  away  with  what 
books  he  pleased,  and  continued  revelling  for  three  sum* 
mers  in  Bugden-house.  For  four  cellars  of  wine,  cyder, 
ale,  and  beer,  with  wood,  hay,  corn,  and  the  like,  stored 
up  for  a  year  or  two,  he  gave  no  account  at  all.  And  thus 
a  large  personal  estate  was  squandered  away,  and  not  the 
least  part  of  the  king's  fine  paid  all  this  while;  whereas  if 
it  had  been  managed  to  the  best  advantage,  it  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  discharge  the  whole.  It  were  endless  to 
repeat  all  the  contrivances  against  his  lordship  during  his 
confinement;  the  bills  which  were  drawn  up,  and  the  suits 
commenced  against  him,  as  it  were  on  purpose  to  impo- 
verish him,  and  to  plunge  him  into  debt,  that  so,  if  he 
procured  his  enlargement  from  this  prison,  he  might  not 
be  long  out  of  another.  However,  he  bore  all  these  af- 
flictions with  the  utmost  patience ;  and  if  a  stranger  had 
seen  his  lordship  in  the  Tower,  he  would  never  have  taken 
him  for  a  prisoner,  but  rather  for  the  lord  and  master  of 
the  place.  For  here  he  lived  with  his  usual  cheerfulness 
and  hospitality,  and  wanted  only  a  larger  allowance  to 
give  his  guests  an  heartier  welcome ;  for  now  he  was  con- 
fined to  bare  500/.  a  year,  a  great  part  of  which  was  con- 
sumed in  the  very  fees  of  the  Tower.  He  diverted  himself, 
when  alone,  sometimes  with  writing  Latin  poems  ;  at  other 
times  with  the  histories  of  such  as  were  noted  for  their 
sufferings  in  former  ages.  And  for  the  three  years  and  a 
half  that  he  was  confined,  he  was  the  same,  man  as  else- 
where, excepting  that  his  frequent  law-suits  broke  his 
studies  often  ;  and  it  could  not  be  seen  that  he  was  the  least 
altered  in  his  health  or  the  pleasantness  of  his  temper.19 

At  length  when  the  parliament  met  in  November  1640, 
bishop  Williams  petitioned  the  king  for  bis  enlargement, 
and  to  have  his  writ  of  summons  to  parliament,  which  his 
majesty  thought  proper  to  refuse ;  but  about  a  fortnight 
after,  the  House  of  Lords  sent  the  gentleman -usher  of  the 


WILLIAMS.  1*9 

black  rod  to  demand  him  of  the  lieutenant  of  the  Tower,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  took  his  seat  among  his  brethren. 
Some  being  set  on  to  try  how  he  stood  affected  to  his  pro- 
secutors, he  answered,  that  "  if  they  had  no  worse  foes  than 
him,  they  might  fear  no  harm ;  and  that  he  saluted  them 
with  the  charity  of  a  bishop  ;"  and  when  Kilvert  came  to 
him  to  crave  pardon  and  indemnity  for  all  the  wrongs  he 
had  done,  "I  assure  you  pardon,"  said  the  bishop,  "  for 
what  you  have  done  before ;  but  this  is  a  new  fault,  that 
you  take  me  to  be  of  so  base  a  spirit,  as  to  defile  myself 
with  treading  upon  so  mean  a  creature.  Live  still  by 
petty-fogging  and  impeaching,  and  think  that  I  have  for- 
gotten you."  And  now  the  king,  understanding  with  what 
courage  and  temper  he  had  behaved  himself  under  his  mis- 
fortunes, was  pleased  to  be  reconciled  to  him ;  and  com- 
manded all  orders,  filed  or  kept  in  any  court  or  registry 
upon  the  former  informations  against  him,  to  be  taken  off, 
razed,  and  cancelled,  that  nothing  might  stand  upon  record 
to  his  disadvantage. 

When  the  earl  of  Strafford  came  to  be  impeached  in  par- 
liament, Williams  defended  the  rights  of  the  bishops,  in  a 
very  significant  speech,  to  vote  in  case  of  blood,  as  Hacket 
relates;  but  lord  Clarendon  relates  just  the  contrary.  He 
says,  that  this  bishop,  without  communicating  with  any  of 
his  brethren,  very  frankly  declared  his  opinion,  that  "  they 
ought  not  to  be  present ;  and  offered,  not  only  in  his  own 
name,  but  for  the  rest  of  the  bishops,  to  withdraw  always 
when  that  business  was  entered  upon :"  an,d  so,  adds  the 
noble  historian,  betrayed  a  fundamental  right  of  the  whole 
order,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  the  king,  and  to  the  taking 
away  the  life  of  that  person,  who  could  not  otherwise  have 
suffered.  Shortly  after,  when  the  king  declared,  that  he 
neither  would,  nor  could  in  conscience,  give  his  royal  assent 
to  that  act  of  attainder ;  and  when  the  tumultuous  citizens 
came  about  the  court  with  noise  and  clamour  for  justice ; 
the  lord  Say  desired  the  king  to  confer  with  his  bishops  for 
the  satisfaction  of  bis  conscience,  and  with  bishop  Williams 
in  particular,  who  told  him,  says  lord  Clarendon,  that  "he 
must  consider,  that  as  he  bad  a  private  capacity  and  a  pub- 
lic, so  he  had  a  public  conscience  as  well  as  a  private :  that 
though  his  private  conscience,  as  a  man,  would  not  permit 
him  to  do  an  act  contrary  to  his  own  understanding,  judg- 
ment, and  conscience,  yet  his  public  conscience  as  a  king, 
which  obliged  him  to  do  all  things  for  the  good  of  his 

Vol.  XXXII.  K 


lsb  WILLIAMS. 

people,  and  to  preserve  his  kingdom  in  peace  for 
and  his  posterity,  would  not  only  permit  him  to  do  that, 
but  even  oblige  and  require  him J  that  he  saw  in  what  com* 
motion  the  people  were;  that  his  own  life,  and  that  of  the 
queen  and  the  royal  issue,  might  probably  be  sacrificed  to 
that  fury  :  and  it  would  be  very  strange,  if  his  conscience 
should  prefer  the  right  of  one  single  private  person,  how 
innocent  soever,  before  all  those  other  lives  and  the  pre- 
servation of  the  kingdom.  This,"  continues  lord  Clareb- 
don,  "  was  the  argumentation  of  that  unhappy  casuist, 
who  truly,  it  may  be,  did  believe  himself  :w  yet  he  reveals 
another  anecdote,  which  shews,  at  least  if  true,  that  bishop 
Williams  could  have  nb  favourable  intentions  towards  the 
unfortunate  earl  of  Strafford.  It  had  once  been  mentioned 
to  the  bishop,  when  he  was  out  at  court,  whether  by  autho- 
rity or  no  was  not  known,  says  the  historian,  that  "  hi* 
peace  should  be  made  there,  if  he  would  resign  his  bi- 
shopric and  deanery  of  Westminster,  and  take  a  good 
bishopric  in  Ireland:99  which  he  positively  refused,  and 
said,  "  he  had  much  to  do  to  defend  himself  against  the 
archbishop  (Laud)  here ;  but,  if  he  was  in  Ireland,  there 
was  a  man  (meaning  the  earl  of  Strafford)  who  would  cot 
off  his  head  within  one  month." 

In  1641,  he  was  advanced  to  the  archbishopric  of  York; 
and  the  same  year  opposed,  in  a  long  speech,  the  bill  for 
depriving  the  bishops  of  their  seats  in  the  House  of  Lords ; 
which  had  this  effect,  that  it  laid  the'  bill  asleep  for  five 
months.  Then  the  mob  flocked  aooiit  the  parliament-house, 
crying  out,  "No  bishops,  no  bishops;"  and  insulted  the 
prelates,  as  they  passed  to  the  House.  WiHiamfc  was  one 
of  the  bishops  who  was  most  Yudely  treated  by  the  rabble ; 
his  person  was  assaulted,  and  his  robes  torn  from  his  back. 
Upon  this,  he  returned  to  his  house,  the  deanery  of  West- 
minster ;  and  sending  for  all  the  bishops  then  in  the  town, 
Who  were  in  number  twelve*  proposed,  as  absolutely  ne- 
cessary, that  "  they  might  unanimously  and  presently  pre- 
pare a  protestation,  to  send  to  the  House,  against  the  force 
that  was  used  upon  them ;  and  against  all  the  acts  which 
were  or  shotild  be  done  during  the  time  that  they  should 
by  force  be  kept  from  doing  their  duties  in  the  House ;" 
and  immediately,  having  pen  and  ink  ready,  himself  pre- 
pared a  protestation,  which  Was  sent.  But  the  politic 
bishop  Williams  is  here  represented  to  have  been  trans- 
ported by  passion  into  impolitic  measures ;  for,  no  sooner 


WILLIAMS.  Ui 

was  this  protestation  communicated  to  the  House  than  the 
governing  Lords  manifested  a  great  satisfaction  in  it ;  some 
of  them  saying,  that  "  there  was  digitus  Dei  to  bring  that 
to  pass,  which  they  could  not  otherwise  have  compassed  :" 
and,  without  ever  declaring  any  judgment  or  opinion  of 
their  own  upon  it,  sent  to  desire  a  conference  with  the 
Commons,  who  presently  joined  with  tbem  in  accusing  the 
protesters  of  high  treason,  and  sending  them  all  to  the 
Tower ;  where  they  continued  till  the  bill  for  putting  them 
out  of  the  House  was  passed,  which  was  not  till  many 
months  after.  Lord  Clarendon  says,  there  was  only  one 
gentleman  in  the  House  of  Commons  that  spoke  in  the 
behalf  of  these  prelates ;  Who  said,  among  other  things, 
that  "he  did  not  believe  they  were  guilty  of  high  treason, 
but  that  they  were  stark-mad,  and  therefore  desired  they 
might  be  sent  to  Bedlam." 

In  June  1642,  the  king  being  at  York,  our  archbishop 
was  enthroned  in  person  in  his  own  cathedral,  but,  soon 
after  the  king  had  left  York,  which  was  in  July  following, 
was  obliged  to  leave  it  too ;  the  younger  Hotham,  who 
was  coming  thither  with  bis  forces,  having  sworn  solemnly 
to  seize  and  kill  him,  for  some  opprobrious  words  spoken  of 
him  concerning  his  usage  of  the  king  at  Hull.  He  retired 
to  his  estate  at  Aber  Conway,  and  fortified  Conway«castle 
for  the  king ;  which  so  pleased  his  majesty,  that  by  a  letter, 
Oxford,  Aug.  the  1st,  1643,  the  king  "  heartily  desired  him 
to  go  on  with  that  work,  assuring  him,  that,  whatever 
moneys  he  should  lay  out  upon  the  fortification  of  the  said 
castle  should  be  repayed  unto  him  before  the  custody 
thereof  should  be  put  into  any  other  hand  than  his 'own,  -or 
such  as  he  should  command."  By  virtue  of  a  warrant,  Jan. 
2,  1643-4,  the  archbishop  deputes  his  nephew  William 
Hooks,  esq.  to  have  the  custody  of  this  castle ;  and,  some 
time  after,  being  sent  for,  set  out  to  attend  the  king  at  Ox- 
ford, whom  he  is  said  to  have,  cautioned  particularly  against 
Cromwell,  who,  "  though  then  of  but  mean  rank  and  use 
in  the  army,  yet  would'  be  sure  %o  rise  higher*  I  knew 
him,"  says  he,  "  at  Buckden ;  but  never  knew  his  religion. 
He  was  a  common  spokesman  for  sectaries,  and  maintained 
their  parts  with  stubbornness.  He  never  discoursed  as  if 
he  were  pleased  with  your  majesty  and  your  great  officers  ; 
indeed  he  loves  none  that  are  more  than  his  equals.  Your 
majesty  did  him  but  justice  in  repulsing  a  petition  put  up 
by  him  against  sir  Thomas  Steward,  of  the  Isle  of  Ely ;  but 

k  2 


132  WILLIAMS. 

he  takes  them  all  for  his  enemies  that  would  not  let  him 
undo  his  best  friend ;  and,  above  all  that  live,  I  think  he 
is  injuriarum  pcrsequentissimus,  as  Port i us  Latro  said  of 
Catiline.  He  talks  openly,  that  it  is  fit  some  should  act 
more  vigorously  against  your  forces,  and  bring  your  per- 
son into  the  power  of  the  parliament.  He  cannot  give  a 
good  word  of  his  general  the  earl  of  Essex ;  because,  he 
says,  the  earl  is  but  half  an  enemy  to  your  majesty,  and 
hath  done  you  more  favour  than  harm.  His  fortunes  are 
broken,  that  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  subsist,  much  lest 
to  be  what  he  aspires  to,  but  by  your  majesty's  bounty,  or 
by  the  ruin  of  us  all,  and  a  common  confusion;  as  one 
said,  '  Lentulus  salva  republica  salvus  esse  non  potuit.*  la 
short,  every  beast  hath  some  evil  properties;  but  Crom- 
well hath  the  properties  of  all  evil  beasts.  My  bumble 
motion  is,  either  that  you  would  win  him  to  you  by  pro- 
mises of  fair  treatment,  or  catch  him  by  some  stratagem, 
and  cut  him  off." 

After  some  stay  at  Oxford,  he  returned  to  his  own  coun- 
try, having  received  a  fresh  charge  from  his  majesty  to 
take  care  of  all  North  Wales,  but  especially  of  Conway- 
castle,  in  which  the  people  of  the  country  had  obtained 
leave  of  the  archbishop  to  lay  up  all  their  valuables.  A 
year  after  this,  sir  John  Owen,  a  colonel  for  the  king, 
marching  that  way  after  a  defeat,  obtained  of  prince  Ru- 
pert to  be  substituted  under  his  hand  commander  of  the 
castle;  and  so  surprising  it  by  force  entered  it,  notwith- 
standing it  was  before  given  to  the  bishop  under  the  king's 
own  signet,  to  possess  it  quietly,  till  the  charges  he  had 
been  at  should  be  refunded  him,  which  as  yet  had  never 
been  offered.  The  archbishop's  remonstrances  at  court 
meeting  with  no  success,  he  being  joined  by  the  country- 
people,  whose  properties  were  detained  in  the  castle,  and 
assisted  by  one  colonel  Mitton,  who  was  a  zealous  man  for 
the  parliament,  forced  open  the  gates,  and  entered  it.  The 
archbishop  did  not  join  the  colonel  with  any  intention  to 
prejudice  his  majesty's  service,  but  agreed  to  put  him  into 
the  castle,  on  condition  that  every  proprietary  should  pos- 
sess his  own,  which  the  colonel  saw  performed. 

After  the  king  was  beheaded;  the  archbishop  spent  his 
days  in  sorrow,  study,  and  devotion ;  and  is  said  to  have 
risen  constantly  every  night  out  of  his  bed  at  midnight,  and 
to  have  prayed  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  on  his  bare  knees, 
without  any  thing  but  his  shirt  and  waistcoat  on.    He  lived 


WILLIAMS.  133 

not  much  above  a  year  after,  dying  the  25th  of  March  1 650  r 
he  was  buried  in  Llandegay  church,  where  a  monument 
was  erected  to  him  by  bis  nephew  and  heir,  sir  Griffith  Wil- 
liams. Besides  several  sermons,  he  published  a  book 
against  archbishop  Laud's  innovations  in  church-matters 
and  religious  ceremonies,  with  this  title,  "  The  Holy  Table, 
Name,  and  Thing,  more  antiently,  properly,  and  literally, 
used  under  the  New  Testament,  than  that  of  Altar.  Writ- 
ten long  ago  by  a  minister  in  Lincolnshire,  in  answer  to  D. 
Coel,  a  judicious  divine  of  queen  Marie's  dayes.  Printed 
for  the  diocese  of  Lincoln,  1637;"  in  quarto.  Lord  Cla- 
rendon, though  far  from  being  favourable  to  this  prelate, 
yet  represents  this  "book  so  full  of  good  learning,  and 
that  learning  so  closely  and  solidly  applied,  though  it 
abounded  with  too  many  light  expressions,  that  it  gained 
him  reputation  enough  to  be  able  to  do  hurt ;  and  shewed, 
that  in  his  retirement  he  had  spent  his  time  with  his  books 
very  profitably.  He  used  .all  the  wit  and  all  the  malice  he 
could,  to  awaken  the  people  to  a  jealousy  of  these  agita- 
tions, and  innovations  in  the  exercise  of  religion  ;  not  with- 
out insinuations  that  it  aimed  at  greater  alterations,  for 
which  be  knew  the  people  would  quickly  find  a  name  :  and 
he  was  ambitious  to  have  it  believed,  that  the  archbishop 
Laud  was  his  greatest  enemy,  for  his  having  constantly  op* 
posed  his  rising  to  any  government  in  the  church,  as  a  man 
whose  hot  and  hasty  spirit  he  had  long  known.9' 

In  the  mean  time,  there  have  not  been  wanting  those,, 
who,  without  disguising  his  infirmities,  have  set  archbishop 
Williams  in  a  better  light  than  we  find  him  represented  by 
the  earl  of  Clarendon,  who  seems  by  no  means  to  have 
loved  the.  man.  Arthur  Wilson  tells  us,  that,  "though  be 
was  composed  of  many  grains  of  good  learning,  yet  the 
height  of  his  spirit,  I  will  not  say  pride,  made  him  odious 
even  to  those  that  raised  him ;  haply  because  they  could 
not  attain  to  those  ends  by  him,  that  they  required  of  him* 
But  t\eing  of  a  comely  and  stately  presence,  and  that  ani- 
mated with  a  great  mind,  made  him  appear  very  proud  to 
the  vulgar  eye;  but  that  very  temper  raised  him  to  aim  at 
great  things,  which  he  affected  :  tor  the  old  ruinous  body 
of  the  abbey-church  at  Westminster  was  new  clothed  by 
him  ;  the  fair  and '  beautiful  library  of  St.  John's  in  Cam- 
bridge was  a  pile  of  his  erection ;  and  a  very  complete, 
chapel  built  by  him  at  Lincoln-college  in  Oxford,  merely 
for  the  name  of  Lincoln,  having  no  interest  in  nor  relation. 


134  WILLIAMS. 

•  * 

to  that  university.  But  that  which  heightened  him  most 
in  the  opinion  of  those  that  knew  him  best,  was  his  boun<- 
tiful  mind  to  men  in  want ;  being  a  great  patron  to  sup- 
port, where  there  was  merit  that  wanted  supply:  but  these 
great  actions,  were  not  publicly  visible :  those  were  more 
apparent  that  were  looked  on  with  envious,  rather  than  with 
emulous  eyes.9* 

Hacket  likewise,  after  observing  that  he  was  a  man  of 
great  hospitality,  charity,  and  generosity,  especially  to  gen-» 
tlemen  of  narrow  fortunes,  and  poor  scholars  in  both  uni- 
versities, informs  us  that  his  disbursements  this  way  every 
year  amounted  to  10901.  or  sometimes  12002.  Hacket  had 
reason  to  know  his  private  character ;  for  he  was  iris  chap- 
lain, and  although  he  may  be  supposed  partial  to  so  emi- 
nent a  benefactor,  the  character  he  gives  of  archbishop 
Williams  is,  in  general,  not  only  consistent  with  itself,  but 
with  some  contemporary  authorities.  He  appears,  amidst 
all  his  secular  concerns,  to  have  entertained  a  strong  sense 
of  the  importance  of  religion.  When  a  divine  once  came 
to  him  for  institution  to  a  living,  Williams  expressed  him- 
self thus ;  "  I  have  passed  through  many  places  of  honour 
and  trust,  both  in  church  and  state,  more  than  any  of  my 
order  in  England  these  seventy  years  before.  But  were  I 
but  assured,  that  by  my  preaching  I  had  converted  but  one 
soul  unto  God,  I  should  take  therein  more  spiritual  joy 
and  comfort,  than  in  all  the  honours  and  offices  which  have 
been  bestowed  upon  me." 

Archbishop  Williams  undertook  a  Latin  Commeutary  on 
the  Bible;  and  the  notes  collected  from  various  authors  by 
his  own  hand  were  formerly  in  the  custody  of  Mr.Goukuid, 
keeper  of  Westminster-college  library.  His  lordship  know- 
ing well,  that  to  perform  such  a  task  completely  was  above 
the  abilities  of  any  one  man,  intended  to  leave  it  to  be 
finished  by  twelve  or  more  of  the  best  scholars  in  the  na- 
tion, whom  he  had  in  his  eye,  and  was  willing  to  give  them 
twenty  thousand  -pounds  rather  than  it  should  be  left  un- 
finished. He  likewise  resolved*  as  notieed  by  Dr.  Pegge, 
in  his  valuable  life  of  that  prelate,  to  publish  the  works  of 
his  predecessor  bishop  Gtosthead,  which  were  scattered  in 
several  libraries  at  home  and  abroad,  and  he  digested  what 
he  could  procure  of  them,  and  wrote  arguments  upon  va- 
rious parts  of  them. 1 

i  Hacket'i  Life  of  Abp.  Williams,  fol.—PhiUips's  and  Stearins'!  Lira,  $?•. 
—Clarendon's  Hist— Lloyd's  Worthies,— Biog.  Brit. 


WILLIAMS.  135 

WILLIAMS  (John)»  an  able  divine,  and  bishop  of  Chi- 
chester, was  bprn  in  Northamptonshire  in  1634,  In  16$  I 
he  entered  a  commoner  of  Magdalen-hall,  Oxford,  where 
in  16$$  be  completed  his  degree*  in  arts*  anjd  was  ordained. 
Id  1673  he  was  collated  to  the  rectory  of  St.  Mildred  in  the 
Poultry,  London,  and  in  1683  to  the  prebend  of  Reymere 
in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Paul.  After  the  revolution  he  be* 
eatne  chaplain  to  king  William  and  queen  Mary,  and  was 
preferred  to  a  prebend  of  Canterbury,  and  in  December 
)6?6  advanced  to  the  bishppric  of  Chichester,  in  which, he 
died  in  1 709.  He  was  a  considerable  writer  io  the  con- 
troversies with  the  papists  and  dissenters,  and  preached  the 
lectures  founded  by  Mr.  Boyle,  his  sermons  on  that  occa-> 
sioo  being  published  in  1695,  4to,  under  the  title  of  "  The 
characters  of  Divine  Revelation*"  He  wrote  also  a  "  Hi*> 
tqry  of  the.  Gunpowder  Treaaon,"  and  many  controversial 
pamphlets  numerated  by  Wood.  He  lived  in  great  inti- 
macy with  Tillptson,  who  says  qf  him,  "J!^ Williams  is 
really  one  of  the  best  men  I  know,  and  most  unwearied  in 
doing  good,  and  his  preaching  is  very  weighty  and  jnpUr 
cious*"  When  Firmin,  the  Socinian,  published  his  "  Con- 
siderations on  the  explications  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Tri- 
nity,1'  Pr.  Williams  wrote  the  same  yeqx  (.1694)  a  "Vindi- 
cation of  archbishop  TilloMon's  Four  Sermons  (concerning 
the  divinity  and  incarnation  of  pur  blessed  Saviour)  and  of 
the  bishop  of  Worcester's  sermon  pn  the  .mysteries  pf  the 
Christian  faith."  In  this,  which  was  not  published  till  1695, 
after  Tillotson's  death,  Dr.  Williams  observes  that  it  was  not 
without  the  archbishop's  direction  and  encouragement,  that 
he  entered  upon  it,  and  that  had  he  lived  to  have  perused 
the  whole,  as  he  did  a  part  of,  it  a  few  dajs  before  hip 
kit  hours,  it  had  cpme  with  greater  advantage  into  tb# 
world,  &c. ' 

WILLIAMS  (Rooea),  a  braye  offiqer  in  the  reign  of 
queen  Elizabeth,  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Williams,  Qf  Pep- 
rose  in  Monmouthshire,  and  educated  at  Oxfp^d,  probably 
in  Brasenose  college.  After  leaving  the  university,  he  be- 
came a  volunteer  in  the  army,  and  served  under  the  duke 
of  Alva.  In  1581,  he  was  in  the  EoglUh  army  commanded 
by  general  Norris  inFriestand,  where  Camden  says  the 
enemy's  troops  were  defeated  by  sir  Roger  Williams  at 
Northorn,  who. probably  therefore  wis  knighted  for  bis  gak 

»  Alb.  to.  vol  IL~*Mi'f  life  9t  TiUWon 


136  WILLIAMS. 

lant  exploits  before  this  time,  although  Wood  says  that  ho- 
nour was  not  conferred  upon  him  until  1586.     In  this  last*  - 
mentioned  year  he  appears  again  in  the  army  commanded 
by  the  earl  of  Leicester  in  Flanders.    When  the  prince  of 
Parma  laid  siege  to  Venlo  in  Guelderland,  Williams,  with 
one  Skenk,  a  Frieslahder,  undertook  to  pierce  through  the 
enemy's  camp  at  midnight,  and  enter  the  town.    They 
penetrated  without  much  difficulty,  as  far  as  the  prince  of 
Parma's  tent,  but  were  then  repulsed.    The  attempt,  how- 
ever, gained  them  great  reputation  in  the  army.     In  1591, 
Williams  was  sent  to  assist  in  the  defence  of  Dieppe,  and 
remained  there  beyond  August  24,  1593.     What  other  ex- 
ploits he  performed,  we  know  not,  but  it  is  probable  that 
he  continued  in  the  service  of  his  country  during  the  war 
in  the  Low  Countries,  of  which  war  be  wrote  a  valuable 
history.     He  died  in  London  in  1595,  and  was  buried  in 
St.  Paul's,  attended  to  his  grave  by  the  earl  of  Essex,  and 
other  officers  of  distinction.     *'  He  might,"  says  Camden, 
"  have  been  compared  with  the  most  famous  captains  of 
our  age,  could  he  have  tempered  the  heat  of  his  warlike 
spirit  with  more  wariness  and  prudent  discretion.9'     Wood 
calls  him  a  colonel,  but  it  does  not  clearly  appear  what 
rank  he  attained  in  the  army.     From  his  writings,  which 
are  highly  extolled  by  Camden,  he  appears  to  have  been 
a  man  of  Strong  natural  parts,  and  sound  judgment.     His 
principal  writing  is  entitled  "The  Actions  of  the  Low 
Countries,"  Lond.  1618,  4to,  which  has  lately  been   re- 
printed in  Mr.  Scott's  new  edition  of  the  Somers's  Tracts. 
He  wrote  also  "  A  brief  discourse  of  War,  with  bis  opinion 
concerning  some  part  of  military  discipline,"  ibid.  J  590, 
4to,  in  which  he  defends  the  military  art  of  his  country 
against  that  of  former  days.     He  mentions  in  his  "  Actions  . 
of  the  Low  Countries,"  a  "  Discourse  of  the  Discipline  of 
the  Spaniards;"  and  in  Rymer's  Fcedera  is  his  "Advice 
from  France,  Nov.  20,  1590."     Some  of  his  MSS.  and 
Letters  are  in  the  Cotton  Library  in  the  British  Museum.1 
WILLIAMSON  (Sir  Joseph),  an  eminent  statesman 
and  benefaetor  to  Queen's  college,  Oxford,  was  son  of 
Joseph  Williamson,  vicar  of  Bridekirk  in  Cumberland  fjrom 
1625  to  1634.     At  his  first  setting  out  in  life  be  was  em- 
ployed as  a  clerk  or  secretary  by  Richard  Tolson,  esq. ; 
representative  in  parliament  for  Cockermouth ;  and,  when 

1  Atb.  Ox.  yoI,  I.  new  «dit— -Camdtn'i  Queen  Elixabetb.— Rettituta,  toI.  I. 


WILLIAMSON.  1S7 

m 

at  London  with  bis  master,  begged  to  be  recommended  to 
Dr.  Busby,  that  be  might,  be  admitted  into  Westminster- 
school,  where  be  made  such  improvement  that  the  master 
recommended  bim  to  the  learned  Dr.  Langbaine,  provost 
of  Queen's  college,  Oxford,  who  came  to  the  election  at 
Westminster.     He  admitted  him  on  the  foundation,  under 
the  tuition  of  Dr.  Thomas  Smith  (for  whom  sir  Joseph  after- 
wards procured  the  bishopric  of  Carlisle),  and  provided  for 
him  at  his  own  expence ;  and  when  he  had  taken  his  ba- 
chelor's degree,  February  2,  1653,  sent  him  to  France  as 
tutor  to  a  person  of  quality.     On  his  return  to  college  he 
was  elected  fellow,  and,  as  it  is  said,  took  deacon's  orders. 
In  1657  he  was  created  A.  M.  by  diploma.     Soon  after  the 
restoration  he  was  recommended  to  sir  Edward  Nicholas, 
and  bis  successor  Henry  earl  of  Arlington,  principal  secret 
tary  of  state,  who  appointed  him  clerk  or  keeper  of  the 
paper-office  at  Whitehall  (of  which  he  appointed  Mr.  Smith 
deputy),  and  employed  him  in  translating  and  writing  me- 
morials in  French;  and  Jifne  24,  1677,  he  was  sworn  one 
of  the  clerks  of  the  council  in  ordinary,  and  knighted.    He 
was  undersecretary  of  state  in  1665  ;  about  which  time  he 
procured  for  himself  the  writing  of  the  Oxford  Gazettes 
then  newly  set  up,  and  employed  Charles  Perrot,  fellow  of 
Oriel  college,  who  had  a  good  command  of  his  pen,  to  do 
that  office  under  bim  till  1671.     In   1678,   1679,   1698, 
1700,  he  represented  the  borough  of  Thetford  in  parlia- 
ment.    In  1685,  being  then  recorder  of  Thdtford,  he  was 
again  elected,  but  Heveningham  the  mayor  returned  him- 
self, and  on  a  petition  it  appeared  that  the  right  of  elec- 
tion was  in  the  select  body  of  the  corporation  before  the 
charter ;  and  in  1690  he  lost  his  election  by  a  double  re- 
turn.    Wood  says  he  was  a  recruiter  for  Thetford  to  sit  in 
that  parliament  which  began  at  Westminster  May  8,  1661. 
At  the  short  treaty  of  Cologne,  sir  Joseph  was  one  of  the 
British  plenipotentiaries,  with  the  earl  of  Sunderland  and 
sir  Leolin  Jenkins,  and  at  his  return  was  created  LL.D. 
June  27,  1674,  sworn  principal  secretary  of  state  Septem- 
ber 1 1,'  on  the  promotion  of  the  earl  of  Arlington  to  the 
chamberlainship  of  the  household,  and  a  privy  counsellor. 
On  November  18,  1678,  he  was  committed  to  the  Tower 
by  the  House  of  Commons,  on  a  charge  of  granting  com- 
missions and  warrants  to  popish  recusants ;  but  be  was  the 
same  day  released  by  the  king,  notwithstanding  an  address 
from  the  House.     He  resigned  his  place  of  secretary  Fe- 


158  W  I  LL  I  A  M  S  O  N. 

Jwuary  9,  1678,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  earl  of  Sunder- 
food;  who,  if  we  believe  Rapin,  gave  him  6000/.  and  500 
guineas  to  induce  him  to  resign.  In  December  that  year 
he  married  Catheriqe  Obrien,  baroness  Clifton,  widow  of 
Henry  lord  Obrien,  who  died  in  August.  She  was  sister 
and  sole  heiress  to  Charles  duke  of  Richmond,  and  brought 
sir  Joseph,  large  possessions  in  Kent  and  elsewhere,  besides 
the  hereditary  stewardship  of  Greenwich.  Some  ascribe 
the  loss  of  the  secretary's  place  to  this  match,  through  the 
means  of  lord  Danby,  who  intended  this  lady  for  his  son. 
She  died  November  1702.  Sir  Joseph  was  president  of 
the  Royal  Society  in  1678.  Under  1674,  Wood  says  of 
him  that  "  he  had  been  a  great  benefactor  to  his  college, 
and  may  be  greater  hereafter  if  he  think  fit."  Upon  some 
slight  $hewn  by  the  college,  he  had  made  a  will  by  which 
he  had  given  but  little  to  it,  haying  disposed  of  his  intended 
benefaction  to  erect  and  endow  a  college  at  Dublin,  to,  be 
called  Queen's  college,  the  provosts  to  be  chosen  from  its 
namesake  in  Oxford.  But  soon  after  his  arrival  in  Holland 
1696,  with  Mr.  Smith,  his  godson  and  secretary,  (after* 
wards,  1730,  provost  of  Queen's  college,  Oxford,)  being 
seized  with  a. violent  fit  of  the  gout,  he  sent  for  his  secre- 
tary, who  bad  before  reconciled  him  to  the  place  of  his 
education,  and  calling  him  to  his  bedside,  directed  htm  to 
take  his  will  out  of  a  drawer  in  the  bureau,  and  insert  a  be- 
nefaction of  6000/.  When  this  was  done  and  ready  to  be 
executed,  before  the  paper  had  been  read  to  him,  "in 
comes  sir  Joseph's  lady."  The  secretary,  well  knowing 
he  had  no  mind  she  should  be  acquainted  with  it,  endea- 
voured to  conceal  it ;  and  on  her  asking  what  he  had  got 
there,  be  answered,  "  nothing  but  news,  Madam ;"  mean- 
ing, such  as  she  was  not  to  know :  and  by  this  seasonable 
and  ready  turn  prevented  her  further  inquiries. 

Dr.  Lancaster,  the  provost,  applied  this  benefaction  to- 
wards erecting  the  south-side  of  the  college.  Sir  Joseph 
also  gave  to  the  library  a  valuable  collection  of  MSS.  espe- 
cially heraldic,  and  memoirs  of  bis  foreign  negociations. 
His  benefactions  to  this  college  in  his  life-time*  and  at  his 
death,  in  plate,  books,  buildings,  and  money,  amounted  to 
8000/.  He  left  by  will  500/.  to  the  grandchildren  of  his 
patron  Dr.  Langbaine ;  and  to  the  parish  of  Bride-kirk  gilt 
bibles  and  prayer-books,  communion-plate,  &c.  He  was 
also  a  benefactor  to  the  cloth-workers9  company,  of  which 
he  had  been  master,  and  left  5000/,  to  found  a  mathemati* 


WILLIS.  rs* 

cal  schdol  for  freemen's  sons  at  Rochester,  which  city  he 
had  represented  in  1689,  1695,  1698,  and  1700.  He  died 
in  1701,  and  was  buried  in  Westminster-abbey. * 

WILLIS  (Thomas),  an  illustrious  English  physician, 
was  of  a  reputable  family,  and  born  at  Great  Bedwin,  in 
Wiltshire,  Jan.  27,  1621,  in  a  house  that  was  often  visited 
by  his  grandson  Browne  Willis,  and  of  which  there  is  an 
engraving  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1798.  He  was 
instructed  in  grammar  and  classical  literature  by  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Sylvester,  a  noted  schoolmaster  in  the  parish  of  All-. 
Saints,  Oxford ;  and,  in  1636,  became  a  member  of  Christ 
church.  He  applied  himself  vigorously  to  his  studies,  and 
took  the  degrees  in  arts  ;  that  of  bachelor  in  1639,  that  of 
master  in  1642.  About  this  time,  Oxford  being  turned 
into  a  garrison  for  the  king,  he  with  other  scholars  bore 
arms  for  his  majesty,  and  devoted  bis  leisure  hours  to  the 
study  of  physic ;  in  which  faculty  he  took  a  bachelor's  de- 
gree in  1646,  when  Oxford  was  surrendered  to  the  parlia- 
ment. He  pursued  the  business  of  his  profession,  and 
kept  Abingdon  market  He  settled  in  an  bouse  over  against 
Merton  college,  and  appropriated  a  room  in  it  for  divine 
servipe^  where  Mr.  John  Fell,  afterwards  dean  of  Christ 
church,  whose  sister  he  had  married,  Mr.  John  Dolben, 
afterwards  archbishop  of  York,  and  sometimes  Mr.  Richard 
Allestree,  afterwards  provost  of  Eton  college,  exercised 
the  liturgy  and  sacraments  according  to  the  church  of  Eng<- 
land,  and  allowed  to  others  the  privilege  of  resorting  thi- 
ther. This  measure  of  theirs  is  commemorated  by  a  paint*, 
ing  in  the  hall  of  Christ  church,  Oxford. 

In  1660,  he  was  made  Sedleian  professor  of  natural  phi- 
losophy ;  and  the  same  year  took  the  degree  of  doctor  of 
physic.  Being  sent  for  to  most  of  the  people  of  quality 
about  Oxford,  and  even  at  great  distances,  he  visited  the 
lady  Key  t  in  Warwickshire ;  and  is  supposed  to  have  been 
going  to  her  in  April  1664,  when  he  discovered,  and  made 
experiments  upon,  the  famous  medicinal  spring  at  Alstrop, 
near  Brackley.  Willis  and  Lower  first  recommended  these 
waters,  which  were  afterwards  decried  by  Radcliffe.  The 
reason  which  Granger  heard  assigned  for  his  decrying  them 
was,  because  the  people,  of  the  village  insisted  upon  his 
keeping  a  bastard  ehild,  which  was  laid  to  him  by  an  infa- 

1  ,&{artia's  Hist  of  Tbetford,"-Bsrik'»  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland— and 
Hitchinson'f  Cumberland. 


140  WILLIS. 

mous  woman  of  that  place.  Upon  this  the  doctor  declared 
"  that  he  would  put  a  toad  into  their  well/'  and  accordingly 
cried  down  the  waters,  which  soon  Ipst  their  reputation. 

Dr.  Willis  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  Royal  So- 
ciety, and  soon  made  his  name  as  illustrious  by  his  writing* 
as  it  was  already  by  his  practice.  In  1666,  after  the  fire 
of  London,  he  removed  to  Westminster,  upon  an  invitation 
from  archbishop  Sheldon,  and  took  a  house  in  St  Martin's- 
lane.  As  he  rose  early  in  the  morning,  that  be  might  be 
present  at  divine  service,  which  he  constantly  frequented 
before  he  visited  his  patients,  he  procured  prayers  to  be 
read  out  of  the  accustomed  times  while  he  lived,  and  at  his 
death  settled  a  stipend  of  20/.  per  annum  to  continue  them* 
He  was  a  liberal  benefactor  to  the  poor  wherever  he  came, 
having  from  his  early  practice  allotted  part  of  his  profits 
to  charitable  uses.  He  wa&  a  fellow  of  the  college  of  phy- 
sicians, and  refused  the  honour  of  knighthood.  He  was 
regular  and  exact  in  his  hours  ;  and  his  tfeble  was  the  re- 
sort of  most  of  the  great  men  in  London.  After  his  settle- 
ment there,  his  only  son  Thomas  falling  into  a  consump- 
tion, he  sent  him  to  Montpellier  in  France  for  the  reco- 
very of  his  health,  which  proved  successful.  His  wife  also 
labouring  under  the  same  disorder,  he  offered  to  leave  the 
town;  but  she,  not  suffering  him  to  neglect  the  means  of 
providing  for  bis  family,  died  in  1670.  He  died,  at  his 
house  in  St.  Martin's,  Nov.  11,  1675,  and  was  buried  near 
her  in  Westminster-abbey.  His  son  Thomas,  above  men- 
tioned, was  born  at  Oxford  in  Jan.  16S7-8,  educated  some 
time  in  Westminster-school,  became  a  student  a  Christ 
church,  and  died  in  1699.  He  was  buried  in  Bletchley 
church,  near  Fenny-Stratford,  the  manors  of  which  places, 
his  father  had  purchased  of  the  duke  of  Buckingham,  and 
which  descended  to  his  eldest  son  Browne  Willis  of  Whad- 
don-hall,  esq.  eminent  for  his  knowledge  in  antiquities,  and 
of  whom  some  memoirs  will  be  given.  Wood  tells  us,  that  • 
"though  Dr.  Willis  was  a  plain  man,  a  man  of  no  carriage, 
little  discourse,  complaisance,  or  society,  yet  for  his  deep 
insight,  happy  researches  in  natural  and  experimental  phi- 
losophy, anatomy,  and  chemistry,  for  his  wonderful  suc- 
cess and  repute  in  his  practice,  the  natural  smoothness, 
pure  elegancy,  delightful  unaffected  neatness  of  Latin 
style,  none  scarce  hath  equalled,  much  less  outdone,  him, 
how  great  soever.  When  at  any  time  he  is  mentioned  by 
authors,  as  he  is  very  often,  it  is  done  in  words  expressing 


WILLIS.  141 

their  highfest  esteem  of  his  great  worth  and  excellency,  and 
plated  still  as  first  in  rank  among  physicians.  And,  fur- 
ther, also,  he  hath  laid  a  lasting  foundation  of  a  body  of 
physic,  chiefly  on  hypotheses  of  his  own  framing.*9  These 
hypotheses,  by  far  too  numerous  and  fanciful  for  his  repu- 
tation, are  contained  in  the  following  works  :  1.  "  Diatriba 
duae  Medico-philosophicae  de  fermentatione,  altera  de  fe- 
bribus,"  Hague,  1659,  8vo,  London,  1660,  1665,  &c.  12 mo. 
This  was  attacked  by  Edm.  de  Meara,  a  doctor  of  physic 
of  Bristol,  and  fellow  of  the  college  of  physicians,  but  de- 
fended by  Dr.  Richard  Lower  in  his  "  Diatribes  Thomas 
Willisii  Med.  Doct.  &  Profess.  Oxon  de  Febribus  Vindi- 
catio  contra  Edm.  de  Meara,'9  London,  1665,  Svo.  2.  "Dis*» 
sertatio  Epistolica  de  Urinis :"  printed  with  the  Diatribst 
above  mentioned.  3.  "  Cerebri  Anatome,'9  London,  1664, 
Svo,  Amsterdam,  1667,  in  12mo.  4.  "  De  rattone  motus 
musculorum,99  printed  with  the  "  Cerebri  Anatome.99  5. 
"  Pathologic  Cerebri  &  nervosi  generis  specimina,  in  quo 
agitur  de  morbis  convulsivis  &  de  scorbiito,"  Oxford,  1667, 
4to,  London,  1668,  Amsterdam,  1669,  &c.  12 mo.  6.  "  Af- 
fectionum  quae  dicuntur  hysteric©  &  hypochondriacs  Pa- 
thologia  spasmodica,  vindicata  contra  responsionem  Epis- 
tolarem  Nath.  Highmore,  M.  D."  London,  1670,  4to,  Ley- 
den,  1671,  12mo,  &c.  7.  "  Exercitationes  Medico-physic© 
duae,  1.  De  sanguinis  accensione.  2.  "  De  motu  muscu- 
lari,'9  printed  with  the  preceding  book.  8.  "  De  anirall 
Brutorum,  quae  hominis  vitals  ac  sensativa  est,  exercita* 
tiones  duae,  &c."  London,  1672,  4to  and  8vo,  Amsterdam, 
1674,  1 2  mo.  All  these  books,  except  **  Affection  urn  qu« 
dicuntur  hysterics,  &c."  and  that  "  de  animft  Brutorum/9 
were  translated  into  English  by  S.  Pordage,  esq.  and  printed 
at  London,  168 1,  folio.  9.  "  Pharmaceutice  Rationalis  : 
sire  Diatriba  de  medicamentorum  operationibus  in  humano 
corpora.9'  In  two  parts,  Oxford,  1674  and*  1675,  12 mo, 
4to.  Published  by  Dr.  John  Fell.  In  the  postscript  to  the 
second  part  is  the  following  imprimatur  put  to  it  by  Dr. 
Ralph  Bathurst,  the  author  dying  the  day  before. 

."  Imprimatur. 
.  "  Amicissimo  Authori   post  tarn  immortale  opus  nihil 
mortale  facturo,  tanquam  lumina  morienti  claudens,  extre- 
mum  hoc  officium  praestat 

"  Rad.  Bathurst,  Oxon. 
Oxon,  Nov.  12,  1675.  Vice-Cancell." 

This  book  was  translated  into  English  by  an  anonymous 


143  WILLIS. 

i 

person*  and  printed  at  London,  in  1679,  in  folio}  but  this 
translation  being  very  faulty,  it  was  corrected  by  S.  Pon- 
dage, esq.  above  mentioned,  and  published  in  his  version 
of  Or.  Willis's  Works  in  1681.  In  1685  there  came  out 
at  London,  in  8vo,  "  The  London  practice  of  Physic ;  or 
the  whole  practical  parf  of  physic  contained  in  the  works 
of  Dr.  Willis,  faithfully  made  English,  and  printed  together 
for  the  public  good.9'  This  contains,  I.  the  first  and  se- 
cond parts  of  our  author's  Pharmaceutice  rationalis ;  II.  his 
treatise  of  convulsive  diseases ;  HI.  that  of  the  scurvy  ;  IV. 
that  of  the  diseases  of  the  brain  and  genus  nervosum ;  V. 
that  of  fevers.  1 0.  A  plain  and  easy  method  of  preserving 
those  that  are  well  from  the  infection  of  the  plague,  or  any 
contagious  distemper,  in  city,  camp,  country,  fleet,  &c.  and 
for  curing  such  as  are  infeoted  with  it.  Written  in  1666, 
but  not  published  till  the  end  of  1690..  AH  our  author's 
Latin  works  were  printed  in  two  volumes  in  4to  at  Geneva 
in  1676,  and  Amsterdam  in  1682  in  4to. 

Although  Dr.  Willis's  works  abound  with  the  reveries  of 
the  chemical  philosophy,  and  consequently  have  fallen  into 
considerable  neglect,  there  are  many  useful  and  curious 
things  to  be  found  in  them.  His  "  Cerebri  Anatome"  is 
the  best  of  his  works ;  but  even  here,  although  his  anato- 
mical descriptions  be  good,,  yet  bis  physiological  opinions 
must  be  acknowledged  to  be  altogether  extravagant  and 
absurd.  For  example,  he  lodges  common  sense  in  the 
corpus  striatum  of  the  brain,  imagination  in  the  corpus  pal- 
loiium,  and  memory  in  the  cineritious  matter  which  en- 
compasses the  medullary.  Yet,  after  all,  what  is  this  to 
the  more  monstroqp  absurdities  of  .that  modern  piece  of 
quackery,  called  Craniology  ?  Vieussen6,  who  in  his  "Neu- 
rographia,"  animadverted  on  Willis,  is  notwithstanding 
under  great  obligations  to  him,  and  Willis's  enumeration  of 
the  nerves  is  still  adhered  to  by  anatomists. 

A  Dutch  physician,  named  Schelhammer,  in  a  book 
"  De  Auditu,"  printed  at  Ley  den  in  1684,  took  occasion  to 
animadvert  upon  a  passage  in  Dr.  Willis's  bode  "  de  Anjma 
Brutorum,"  printed  in  1672 ;  and  in  such  a  manner  as  re- 
flected not  only  upon  his  skill,  but  also  upon  his  integrity. 
But  Dr.  Derham  observes,  "  that  this  is  a  severe  and  unjust 
censure  of  our  truly-famous  countryman,  a  man  of  known 
probity,  who  hath  manifested  himself  to  have  been  as  cu- 
rious and  sagacious  an  anatomist,  as  great  a  philosopher,  and 
as  learned  and  skilful  a  physician  as  any  of  his  censurers ; 


WILLIS.  14* 

and  bis  reputation  for  veracity  and  integrity  was  no  lest 
than  iny  of  theirs  too."  It  remains  to  be  noticed,  that  bis 
"  Cerebri  Anatome"  had  an  elegant  copy  of  verses  written 
in  it  by  Mr.  Phillip  Fell,  and  the  drawings  for  .the  plates 
were  done  by  bis  friend  Dr.  Christopher  Wren,  the  cele* 
brated  architect.1 

WILLIS  (Browne),  an  eminent  antiquary,  was  born 
Sept.  14,  ]  682,  at  Blandford  in  Dorset  He  was  grandson 
to  the  preceding  Dr.  Willis,  and  eldest  son  of  Thomas 
Willis,  esq.  of  Bletchley,  in  Bucks.  His  mother  was  daugh- 
ter of-  Robert  Browne,  esq.  of  Frampton,  in  Dorsetshire. 
He  had  the  first  part  of  bis  education  under  Mr.  Abraham 
Freestone  at  Bechampton,  whence  he  was  sent  to  West- 
minster-school, and  during  his  frequent  walks  in  the  adjoin** 
ing  abbey  imbibed  that  taste  for  architectural,  particularly 
Ecclesiastical,  antiquities,  which  constituted  the  pleasure 
and  employment  of  his  future  life.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  was  admitted  a  gentleman  commoner  of  Christ 
church,  Oxford,  under  the  tuition  of  the  famous  geogra- 
pher Edward  Wells,  D.  D.  and  when  he  left  Oxford,  be 
lived  for  three  years  with  the  famous  Dr.  Will.  Wotton.  In 
1702,  he  proved  a  considerable  benefactor  to  Fenrjy-  Strat- 
ford, by  reviving  the  market  of  that  town.  In  1705,  he 
waa  chosen  for  the  town  of  Buckingham ;  and,  during  the 
short  time  he  was  in  parliament,  was  a  constant  attendant! 
and  generally  upon  committees.  In  1707,  he  married  Ca. 
tbarine,  daughter  of  Daniel  Elliot,  esq.  of  a  very  ancient 
family  in  Cornwall,  with  whom  he  had  a  fortune  of  8000& 
and  by  whom  he  had  a  numerous  issue.  She  died  Oct.  3* 
1724.  This  lady  had  some  literary  pretensions.  She  wrote 
a  book  entitled  "  The  established  Church  of  England  the 
true  oatholick  church,  free  from  innovations,  or  diminish* 
ing  the  apostolic  doctrines,  the  sacraments,  and  doctrines 
whereof  are  herein  set  forth,"  Lond.  1718,  8vo.  What 
the  merit  of  this  work  may  be,  we  know  not ;  but  her  hus- 
band often  made  a  joke  of  it,  and  in  his  own  copy  wrote 
the  following  note,  "All  the  connexion  in  this  book  is 
owing  to  the  book-binder.9'  Between  1704  and  1707  he 
contributed  very  largely  towards  the  repairing  and  beau* 
tifyiftg  Bletchley  church,  of  which  he  was  patron,  and  to 
which  be  gave  a  set  of  communion-plate.    In  1 7 17-18,  the* 


1  ,Ati*.  Ojc.  toI,  II.— Bieg.  Brit. — Letter*  by  Eminent  Persons,  1813, 3  vols. 
Sro.— Thomson's  Hist,  of  the  RoyeJ  Society.— Granger,— Birch's  Lives.— Dew* 
Baffttelfi  Life. 


144  WILLIS. 

Society  of  Antiquaries  being  revived,  Mr.  Willis  became  &. 
member  of  it,  and  Aug.  23,  1720,  the  degree  of  M.  A.  and 
1749,  that  of  LL.  D.  were  conferred  oh  him,  by  diploma, 
by  the  university  of  Oxford.  From  some  of  his  letters  in 
1723,  it  would  appear  that  at  that  time  he  had  some  em- 
ployment in  the  Tower,  or  perhaps  had  only  gained  access 
to  the  archives  preserved  there.  At  his  solicitation,  and  in 
concurrence  with  his  copsin  Dr.  Martin  Benson,  afterwards 
bishop  of  Gloucester,  rector  of  that  parish,  a  subscription 
was  raised  for  building  the  beautiful  chapel  of  St.  Martin's 
at  Fenny- Stratford,  which  was  begun  in  1724,  and  conse- 
crated May  27,  1730.  A  dreadful  fire  having  destroyed 
above  fifty  houses  and  the  church  at  Stoney-Stratford, 
May  19, 1746,  Mr.  Willis,  besides  collecting  money  among 
his  friends  for  the  benefit  of  the  unhappy  sufferers,  re- 
paired, at  his  own  expence,  the  tower  of  the  church,  and 
afterwards  gave  a  lottery  ticket  towards  the  re-building  of 
that  church,  which  came  up  a  prize.  In  1741  he  pre- 
sented the  university  of  Oxford  with  his  fine  cabinet  of 
English  coins,  at  that  time  looked  upon  as  the  most  com- 
plete, collection  in  England,  and  which  he  had  been  up- 
wards of  forty  years  in  collecting;  but  the  university 
thinking  it  too  much  for  him,  who  \  had  then  a  large 
family,  to  give  the  gold  ones,  purchased  them  for  150 
guineas,  which  were  paid  to  Mr.  Willis  for  167  English 
gold  coins,  at  the  rate  of  four  guineas  per  ounce  weight ; 
and  even  in  this  way  the  gold  coins  were  a  considerable 
benefaction.  This  cabinet  Mr.  Willis  annually  visited  1 9 
Oct.  being  St.  Frideswide's  day,  and  never  failed  making 
some  addition  to  it.  He  also  gave  some  MSS.  to  the  Bodleian 
library,  together  witt*  a  picture  of  his  grandfather,  'Dr. 
Thomas  Willis.  In  1752  he  laid  out  200/.  towards  the  re- 
pairs of  the  fine  tower  at  Buckingham  church,  which  fell 
d6wn  some  years. ago,  and  he  was,  upon  every  occasion,  a 
great  friend  to  that  town.  In  1756,  Bow  Brickhill  church, 
which  had  been  disused  near  150  years,  was  restored  and 
repaired  by  his  generosity.  In  1757  he  erected,  in  Christ 
church,  Oxford,  a  handsome  monument  for  Dr.  lies,  canon 
of  that  cathedral,  to  whose  education  his  grandfather  had 
contributed ;  and  in  1759,  he  prevailed  upon  University 
college  to. do  the  same  in  Bechampton  church,  for  their 
great  benefactor  sir  Simon  Benet,  bart.  above  100  years 
after  his  death  :  he  also,  at  his  own  expence,  placed  a  mar- 
ble stone  over  him,  on  account  of  his  benefactions  at  Be- 


WILLIS.  US 

champton,  Buckingham,  Stohey-Stratford,  &c.  Dr.  WillU 
died  at  Whaddon-hall,  Feb.  5,  1760,  in  the  seventy-eighth 
year  of  bis  age,  and  was  buried  in  Fenny- Stratford  chape), 
where  is  an  inscription  written  bj  himself. 

The  rev.  Mr.  Gibbefd,  curate  of  Wbaddon,  gives  bin 
the  following  character.     "  He  was  strictly  religious,  with- 
out any  mixture  of  superstition  or  enthusiasm.  The  honour 
of  God  was  his  prime  view  in  every  action  of  his  life.     He 
was  a  constant  frequenter  of  the  church,  and  never  absented 
himself  from  the<holy  communion ;  and,  as  to  the  reverence 
he  had  for  places  more  immediately  set  apart  for  religious 
duties,   it  is  needless  to  mention  what  his  many  public 
works,  in  building,  repairing,  and  beautifying  churches, 
are  standing  evidences  of.     In  the  time  of  health  be  called 
his  family  together  every  evening,  and,  besides  his  private 
devotions  in  the  morning,  he  always  retired  into  his  closet 
in  the  afternoon  at  about  four  or  five  o'clock.     In  his  in- 
tercourse with  men  he  was  in  every  respect,  as  far  as  I 
could  judge,  very  upright.     He  was  a  good  landlord,  and 
scarce  ever  raised  his  rents ;  and  that  bis  servants  likewise 
had  no  reason  to  complain  of  their  master  is  evident  from 
the  long  time  they  geuerally  lived  with  him.     He  had  many 
valuable  and  good  friends,  whose  kindness  he  always  ac- 
knowledged.    And  though  perhaps  be  might  have  some 
disputes  with  a  few  people,  the  reason  of  which  it  would 
be  disagreeable  to  enter  into,  yet  it  is  with  great  satisfac? 
tion  that  I  can  affirm  that  he  was  perfectly  reconciled  with 
every  one.     He  was,  with  regard  to  himself,  peculiarly  so- 
ber and  temperate ;  and  be  has  often  told  me,  that  he  de- 
nied himself  many  things,  that  he  might  bestow  them  bet- 
ter.    Indeed,  he  appeared  to  me  to  have  no  greater  regard 
to  money  than  as  it  furnished  bim  with  an  opportunity  of 
doing  good.     He  supplied  yearly  three  charity  schoojs  at 
Whaddon,  Bletchley,  and  Fenny  Stratford;  and  besides 
what  he  constantly  gave  at  Christmas,  he  was  never  back- 
ward in  relieving  his  poor  neighbours  with  both  wine  and 
money  when  they  were  sick,  or  in  any  kind  of  distress.   He 
was  a  faithful  friend  where  he  professed  it,  and  always  ready 
to  contribute  any  thing  to  their  advantage." 

Many  other  curious  particulars  of  Dr.  Willis's  character 
and  singularities  may  be  seen  in  Mr,  Nichols's  "  Literary 
Anecdotes,9'  vols.  VI.  and  VIII.  and  many  extracts  from 
kis  correspondence.  It  is  now  necessary  to  give  some 
account  of  bis  labours  as  an  antiquary,  which,  m  general, 

Vol.  XXXII.  L 


146  WILL  IS. 

do  the  highest  credit  to  his  talents,  industry,  and  perse* 
verance,  yet  perhaps,  could  not  have  been  carried  on  with* 
out  a  considerable  proportion  of  that  enthusiasm  which 
sometimes  embarrassed  his  fortune,  and  created  many 
oddities  of  character  and  behaviour. 

•■  In  1710,  when  Mr.  Gale  published  his  "History  and 
Antiquities  of  Winchester  Cathedral,"  Willis  supplied  him 
with  the  history  of  Hyde  abbey,  and  lists  of  the  abbots  of 
Newminster  and  Hyde,  published  in  that  work.  In  1715 
and  1716  he  published  his  "  Notitia  Parliamentaria,  or  an 
History  of  the  Counties,  cities  and  boroughs  in  England 
and  Wales,"  2  vols.  Svo,  to  which  he  added  a  third  in  1730* 
The  first  volume  was  reprinted  in  1730,  with  additions; 
and  a  single  sheet,  as  far  as  relates  to  the  borough  of  Wind-* 
sor,  was  printed  in  1733,  folio.  In  1717,  he  published, 
without  his  name,  a  kind  of  abridgment  of  "  The  Whole 
Duty  of  Man,"  "  for  the  benefit  of  the  poorer  sort."  In 
the  same  year,  "  A  Survey  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  St. 
David's,  and  the  edifices  belonging  to  it,  as  they  stood  in 
the  year  1715,"  8vo%  In  1718  and  1719,  "An  History  of 
the  mitred  Parliamentary  abbies  and  conventual  cathedral 
Churches,"  2  vols.  8vo.  In  1719,  20,  and  21,  "Surveys  of 
the  Cathedral  churches  of  Llandaff,  St.  Asaph,  and  Bangor, 
&c."  8vo.  This  led  to  his  greatest  and  most  important  work, 
"  Survey  of  the  Cathedrals  of  England,  with  the  Parochiale 
Anglicanum,  illustrated  with  draughts  of  the  cathedrals,"  3 
vols.  4 to,  1727,  1730,  and  1733r  These  volumes  contain 
the  history  of  the  cathedrals  of  York,  Durham,  Carlisle, 
Chester,  Man,  Lichfield,  Hereford,  Worcester,  Gloucester, 
Bristol,  Lincoln,  Ely,  Oxford,  and  Peterborough.  These 
were  first  published  by  Mr.  Francis  Gosling,  afterwards  the 
banker  and  founder  of  the  well* known  and  highly  respected 
firm  of  that  name,  who,  on  giving  up  the  bookselling  busi* 
ness,  sold  the  remaining  copies  to  Osborne,  who  prefixed  a 
title  with  the  date  1742,  and  advertised  them  as  containing 
a  history  of  all  the  cathedrals.  Against  this  roguish  trick, 
Willis  thought  proper  to  guard  the  public  in  an  advertise- 
ment in  the  public  papers.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  however, 
that  he  did  not  extend  his  labours  to  all  the  cathedrals,  for 
he  had  during  his  long  life  visited  every  cathedral  in  Eng- 
land and  Wales  except  Carlisle,  which  journies  he  used 
to  call  fits  pilgrimages. 

In  1733  he  published  "  A  Table  of  the  Gold  Coins  of 
the  Kiogs*  of  England,"  in  one  sheet  folio,  which  is  in  the 


W  1  L  t  1  &  M 

ft  Vetusta  Monumental  Before  1752  he  printed  *n  "  Ad- 
dress to  the  patrons  of  ecclesiastical  livings/9  4to,  with  the 
View  to  prevent  pluralities  and  non-residence;  and  in  1754, 
an  improved  edition  of  "  Ectoii's  Thesaurus  reruni  ecde- 
.  siasticarum,"  4to.  His  last  publication  was  the  "  History 
and  antiquities  of  the  Town,  hundred,  and  deanry,  of 
Buckingham,"  London,  1755,  4to«  His  large  collections 
for  the  whole  county  are  now  among  his  MSS.  in  the  Bod- 
leian library  ;  and  his  MS.  of  the  "  History  of  the  Hundreds 
of  Newport  -and  Cotslow,"  transcribed  and  methodized  by 
Mr.  Cole,  a&  now  among  Mr.  Cole's  valuable  MSS.  in  the 
British  Museum.  Willis  was  not  much  a  gainer  by  any  of 
bis  publications,  the  sale  being  generally  very  tardy,  of 
which  he  inakes  many-complaints  in  his  private  correspond* 
ence.  They  have  all,  however,  siitce,  borne  a  price  more 
suited  to  their  merits.1 

WILLUGHBY  (Francis),  a  celebrated  natural  historian, 
was  the  only  son  of  sir  Francis  Willughby,  knt,  and  was 
born,  in  1635.  His  natural  advantages,  with  regard  to 
birth,  talents,  and  fortune,  he  applied  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  procure  to  himself  honours  that  might  mora 
truly  be  called  his  own.  He  was  addicted  to  study  from 
his  childhood,  and  was  so  great  an  oeconomist  of  his  time, 
that  be  was  thought  by  his  friends  to  have  impaired  his 
health  by  his  incessant  application.  By  this  means,  how- 
ever, he  attained  gr$at  skill  in  all  branches  of  learning, 
and  got  deep  insight  into  the  most  abstruse  kinds  of  know* 
ledge,  and  the  most  subtle  parts  of  the  mathematics.  But 
observing,  in  the  busy  and  inquisitive  age  in  which  he 
lived,  that  the  history  of  animals  was  in  a  great  measure 
neglected  by  his  countrymen,  he  applied  himself  particu- 
larly to  that  province,  and  used  all  diligence  to  cultivate 
and  illustrate  it.  To  prosecute  this  purpose  more  effec- 
tually, he  carefully  read  over  what  had  been  written  by 
others  on  that  subject;  tod  in  1660,  we  find  him  residing 
at  Oxford  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  library.  But  hef 
had  been  originally  a  member  of  Trinity  college,  Cam- 
bridge, where  he  took  his  degree  of  A*  B.  in  1656,  and  of 
A.M.  in  1659.  After  leaving  Oxford,  he  travelled,  in 
search  of  natural  knowledge,  several  times  over  his: native 
country  ;  and  afterwards  to  France,  Spain,  Italy,  Germany, 

*  Life  pr«6xed  to  his  Cathedrals.— Nicb6ls'S  Bfo^yer—HutchiD^  Hilt1  of 
Honetshire.— Cole'B  M9  Athea*  in  Brit.  Mus.—Bieg.  Brit. 

L2 


14*  WILLUGHBt 

and  the  Low-Countries,  attended  by  bis  ingenious  friend* 
Mr.  John  Ray,  and  others ;  in  all  which  places,  says  Wood, 
he  was  so  inquisitive  and  successful,  thai -not  many  sorts ' 
of  animals,  described  by  others,  escaped  bis   diligence. 
He  died  July  3,  1672,  aged  only  thirty-seven ;  to  the  great 
loss  of  the  republic  of  letters,  and  much  lamented  by  those 
of  the  Royal  Society,  of  which  he  was  an  eminent  member, 
and  ornament     He  left  to  Mr.  Ray  the  charge  of  educat- 
ing his  two  infant  sons,  with  an  annuity  of  70/,  which  con-: 
stituted  ever  after  the  chief  part  Of  Ray's  income.     A  most* 
exemplary  character  of  him  may  be  seen  in  Ray's  preface 
to  his  "  Ornithology ;"  whence  all  the  particulars  are  con- 
cisely and  elegantly  summed  up  in  a  Latin  epitaph,  on  a 
monument  erected  to  his  memory  in  the  church  of  Middle- 
ton  in  Warwickshire,  where  be  is  buried  with  his  ancestors** 
His  works  are,  "  Ornithologiae  libri  trea:  in  quibus  avea 
omnes  hactenus  cognitae  in  metbodum  natnris  suis  convenU 
entem  redecue  accurate  describuotut,  descriptiones  iconic 
bus  elegantissimis,  &  vivarum  avium  simillimis,  srri  incisis 
illustrantur,"  1676,  folio.  .  This  was  prepared  for  the  press, 
corrected  and  digested  into  order,  by  Ray,  afterwards  by 
him  also  translated  into  English,  with  an  appendix,  and 
figures  engraved  at  the  expense  of  Mr*  Willughby,  but  of 
inferior  merit,  1673,  folio.     2.  "  Historic   PiscHim  libri 
quatuor,  &c"  1686,  folio.    This  was  revised  and  digested 
by  Ray,  with  engravings  of  many  species,  not  then  known 
in  Eogland.     3.  "  Letter  containing  some  considerable, 
observations  about  that  kind  of  wasps  called  Icbheumones, 
&c.  dated  Aug.  24,  1671."     See  the  Phil.  Trans.  N*  76. 
4.  "  Letter  about  the  hatching  a  kind  of  bee  lodged  in  old 
willows,  dated  July  10,  1671."    Trans.  N9  47.     5.  "  Let- 
ters of  Francis  Willughby,  esq."  added  to  "  Philosophical 
Letters  tyftveen  the  late  learned  Mr.  Ray.  and  several  of 
s  correitioodents,!'  8vo.     By  William  Derham.1 
WILLYMQT  IJViluam),    a  teacher  of  considerable 
*ote,  and  a  publisher  of  some  school-books  of  reputation* 
was  the  second  son  of  Thomas  Willymot  of  Royston,  in  the 
county  of  Cambridge,  by  his  wife  Rachel,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Pindar  of  Springfield  in  Esses.    He  was  bom,  we  are  aot 
told  in  wbet  year,  at  Royston,  and  admitted  scholar  of 
XingVcollege,  Cambridge,  OcU  20, 1699.    He  proceeded 

i  Birch's  Hiit  of  too  Boyal  Soeirfy,  *ol  HI.  p.  66.^-Ath.  O*.  toI.  U.— BtOf s 
Brit— Dtrtoa't  Life  of  IUjr.*-IUj'f  Jifo,  yoL  XXVI.  of  thy  work. 


WILL  YOM  O  T.  1«* 

A.  B;  in  1697,  A.  M.  in  1700,  ttld  LL.  D.in  1707.    After. 
taking  his  muttr-s  degree  be  went  as  usher  la  Eton,  where 
Cole  says  "  be  continued  not  long,  but  kept  a  school  at 
Isieworth  in   Middlesex  :"    tJarwood,  however,  says .  that 
he  was  many  years' an  assistant  at  Eton,  and  was  the  editor 
of  several  books  for  the  use  of  boys  educated  there.     Har- 
wood  adds  that  he  was  tutor,  when  at  King's  college,  to 
lord  Henry  and  lord  Richard  Lumley,  sons  of  the  earl  of 
Scarborough;  and  Cole  informs  us  that  he  was  private 
tutor  in  the  family  of  John  Bromley,  of  Horsebeath-hali 
in  Cambridgeshire,  esq.  father  of  Henry  lord  Montfort; 
?  but  here  endeavouring  to  pay  his  addresses  to  one  of  the 
ladies  of  the  family,  he  was  dismissed."     When  he  left 
Eton  is  uncertain,  but- in  1721  we  find  him  master  of  a 
private  school  at  Isle  worth,  and  at  that  time  one  of  the 
candidates  for  the  mastership  of  St  Paul's  school,  in  which 
he  did  not  succeed.     By  an  advertisement  then  published 
by  .htm,  it  would  appear  that  his  failure  arose  in  .some 
measure  from  bis  being  suspected  of  an  attachment  to  the 
pretender,  which  he  denies.     Some  time  before  this  he  bad 
studied  civil  law,  and  entered  himself  of  Doctors1 -com- 
mons, but  changing  his  mind,  returned  to  college^  took 
holy  orders,  and  was  made  vice-provost  of  King's  college 
in  the  above  year,  1721,  at  which  time  he  was  senior  fellow. 
In  1735  he  was  presented  to  the  rectory  of  Milton  near 
Cambridge,  after  a  contest  with  the  college,  which  refused 
bim,  in  consideration  of  his  not  having  remained  and  per- 
formed the  requisite  college  exercises.     Even  with  this, 
Cole  says,  be  was  soon  dissatisfied,  and  would  have  re- 
turned to  his  fellowship  had  it  beeir  possible*     He  died 
June  7,  1737,  of  an  apoplexy,  tit  tbe  Swan  Inn,  at  Bed- 
ford, on  his  return  from  Bath.    Among  bis  publications  for 
tbe  use  of  schools  are*  1.  "  The  peculiar  use  and  signifi- 
cation of  certain  words  in  tbe  Latin  tongue,"  &c.  1705, 8vo« 
2.  "  Particles  exemplified  in  English  sentences,  &c."  1703, 
Svo.     3.  "  Larger  examples,  fitted  to   Lilly's  grammar- 
rules.*1     4.  "  Smaller  examples,  &c"     5.  «  Three  of  Te- 
rence's comedies,  viz.  the  Andria,  the  Adelphi,  and  the 
Hecyra,    with  English  notes,'*  1706,   8vo.       0.  "Select 
dtories  from  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  with  English  notes." 
7;  "  Phsedrus  Fabfe*,  with  English  notes,"  &c.  &c.     He 
published  also  "  A  collection  of  Devotions  for  the  Altar,** 
2  vols.  8vo;  "  Lord  Bacon's  Essays,'*  2  vols.  8vo.  and  "A. 
new  translation  of  Thomas  a  Kempis/'  1722.    Tbe  com- 


*» 


150  WILLYMO  T, 

mon  copies  are  dedicated  "  To  the  Sufferers  by  the  South 
Sea."  It  was  originally  dedicated  to  Dr.  Godolphin,  pro*-- 
vost  of  Eton,  but  as  he  had  abused  the  fellows  -of  the  col- 
lege in  it,  upon  recollection  he  called  it  in,  "so,"  saytf 
Cole,  "  this  curious  dedication  is  rarely  to  be  met  with.'91 

WILMOT  (John,  Earl  of  Rochester),  a  noted  wit  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.  was  the  son  of  -Henry  earl  of  Ro- 
chester ;  who  bore  a  great  part  in  the  civil  wars,  and  was 
the  chief  manager  of  the  king's  •  preservation ,  after  the 
battle   of  Worcester.     He   was   born  April  10,   1647,   at* 
Ditchley  iu  Oxfordshire ;  and  was  educated  in  grammar 
and  classical  literature  in  the  free-school  at  Burford.    Here- 
be  acquired  the  Latin  to  such  perfection,  that' to  his  dying 
day  he  retained  a  quick  relish  for  the  beauties  of  that 
tongue ;  and  afterwards  became  exactly  versed  in  the  an* 
thors  of  the  Augustan  age,  which  he  often  read*     In  1659, 
when  only  twelve  years  old,  he  was  admitted  a  nobleman 
of  Wadham  college  in  Oxford,  under  the  inspection:  of  Dr, 
Blandford,  afterwards  bishop  of  Oxford  and  Worcester; 
and,  in  1661,  was  with  some  other  persons  of  rank  created* 
master  of  arts  in  convocation :  at  which  time,  Wood  says, 
he  and  none  else  was  admitted  very  affectionately  into  the 
fraternity  by  a  kiss  from  the  chancellor  of  the  university, 
Clarendon,  who  then  sate  in  the  supreme  chair.     After- 
wards he  travelled  into  France  and  Italy;  and  at  his  re- 
turn  frequented   the   court,  which,  Wood   ohserves,  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  very  truly,  not  only  corrupted 
his  morals,  but  made  him  a  perfect  Hobbist  in  principle* 
In  the  mean  time,  he  became  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
bed-chamber  to  the  king,  and  comptroller  of  Woodstock-* 
park.     In  1665  be  went  to  sea  with  the  earl  of  Sandwich, 
who  was  sent  to  lie  in  wait  for  the  Dutch  East-India  fleet ; 
and  was  in  the  Revenge,  commanded  by  sir  Thomas  Tid- 
diman,  when  the  attack  was  made  en  the  port  of  Bergen  iu 
Norway,  the  Dutch  ships  having  got  into  that  port     It 
was  a  desperate  attempt;  and,  during  the  whole  action, 
the  earl  of  Rochester  shewed  the  greatest  resolution,  and 
gained  a  high  reputation  for  courage.     He  supported  his 
character  for  bravery  in  a  second  expedition,  but  after- 
wards lost  it  in  an  adventure  with  lord  Mulgrave ;  of  whifch 
that  noble  author,  in  the  memoirs  of  himself,  gives  a  par-. 

;  *  Cole's  MS  Collections  in  Brit.  tyus.  to!.  XVI.— Harwood'*  Alumni  Etonen- 
W.^Nicbofc's  Bowver. 


W  I  L  M  O  T.  i  *| 

tlcular  account     It  exhibits  some  traits  of  the  earl  of  Ro- 
chester's character;  and  therefore,  though  somewhat  te- 
dious and  wordy,  may  not  be  unacceptable*     "  I  was  in- 
formed," says  lord  Mul grave,  "  that  the  earl  of  Rochester ' 
bad  said  something  of  me,  which,  according  to  his  custom; ' 
was  very  malicious.     I  therefore  sent  colonel  Aston,  a  very 
mettled  friend  of  mine,  to  call  him  to  account  for  it.     He- 
denied  the  words,  and  indeed  I  was  soon  convinced  be  had 
never  said  them  ;  but  the  mere  report,  though  I  found  it- 
to  be  false,  obliged  me,  as  I  then  foolishly  thought,  to  go 
on  with  the  quarrel;  and  the  next  day  was  appointed  for 
us  to  fight  on  horseback,  a  way  in  England  a  little  unusual, 
but  it  was  his  part  to  chuse.     Accordingly,  1  and  my  se~' 
cond  lay  the  night  before  at  Knightsbridge  privately,  to 
avoid  the  being  secured  at  London  upon  any  suspicion ; 
atid  in  the  morning  we  met  the  lord  Rochester  at  the  place 
appointed,  who,  instead  of  James  Porter,  whom  he  assured 
Aston  be  would  make  bis  second,  brought  an  errant  life- 
guard man,  whom  hobody  knew.     To  this  Mr.  Aston  took 
exception,  upon  the  account  of  his  being  no  suitable  adver- 
sary; especially  considering  how  extremely  well  he  was 
mounted,  whereas  we  had  only  a  couple  of  pads :  upon' 
which,  we  all  agreed  to  fight  on  foot.     But,  as  my  lord 
Rochester  and  I  were  ridio-g  into  the  next  field  in  order  to 
it,  he  told  me,  that  he  had  at  first  chosen  to  fight  on 
horseback,  because  he  was  so  much  indisposed,  that  he 
found  himself  unfit  at  all  any  way,  much  less  on  foot.     I 
was  extremely  surprised,  because  at  that  time  nq  man  had 
a  better  reputation  for  courage ;  and  I  took  the  liberty  of 
representing  what  a  ridiculous  story  it  would  make,  if  we 
returned  without  righting,  and  therefore  advised  him  for 
both  our  sakes,  especially  for  his  own,  to  consider  better 
of  it,  since  I  must  be  obliged  in  my  own  defence  to  lay 
the  fault  on  him,  by  telling  the  truth  of  the  matter.     H« 
answer  was,  that  be  submitted  to  it;  and  hoped,  that  I 
would  not  desire  the  advantage  of  having  to  do  with  afly 
man  in  so  weak  a  condition.     I  replied,  that  by  such -art 
argument  he  bad  sufficiently  tied  my  hands,  upon  condi- 
tion that  I  might  call  our  seconds  to  be  witnessed   of  the 
whole  business ;  which  he  consented  to,  and  so  we  {totted. 
When  we  returned  to   London,  we  found  it  full  of  fetp$ 
quarrel,  upon  our  being  absent  so  long;  and   therefore 
Mr.  Aston  thought  himself  obliged   to  write  down  every 
word  and  circumstance  of  this  whole  matter,  in  ordef '  tq 


U*   '  WILMOT.' 

spread  €Vf  ry  where  the  true  reason  of  oar  returning  with- 
out having  fought.  This,  heing  never  in  the  least  contra- 
dicted or  resented  by  the  lord  Rochester,  entirely  ruined 
Ms  reputation,  as  to  courage,  of  which  I  was  really  sorry  to 
bp  fhe  occasion,  though  nobody  bad  still  a  greater  as  to 
wit;  which  supported  him  pretty  well  in  the  world,  not- 
withstanding some  more  accidents  of  the  same  fcind,  that 
never  fail  to  succeed  one  another,  when  once  people  know 
a  man's  weakness."  . 

t  The  earl  of.  Rochester,  before  he  travelled,  had  given 
somewhat  into  that  disorderly  and  intemperate  way  of  liv- 
ing which  the  joy  of  the  whole  nation,  upon  the  restoring 
of  Charles  II.  had  introduced ;  yet  during  his  travels  he 
had  at  least  acquired  a  habit  of  sobriety.  But,  falling  into 
court-company,. where  excesses  were  continually  practised* 
he  soon  became  intemperate,  and  the  natural  beat  of  his 
fancy,  being  mflamed  wjth  wine,  made  him  so  extrava- 
gantly pleasant,  that  many,  to  be  more  diverted  by  that 
humour,  strove  to  engage  him  deeper  and  deeper  in  intoxi- 
cation. This  at  length  so  entirely  subdued  bitp,  that,  as 
he  told  Dr.  Burnet,  he  was  for  five  years  together  conti- 
nually drunk  :  not  all  the  while  under  the  visible  effect  of 
liquor,  but  so  inflamed  in  his  blood,  tbat  he-  was  never 
cool  enough  to  be  master  of  himself.  There  were  two 
principles  in  the  natural  temper  of  this  lively. and  witty 
earl,  which  carried  him  to  great  excesses ;  a  violent  love 
of  pleaspre,  and  a  disposition  to  extravagant  mirth.  The 
one  involved  him  in  the  lowest  sensuality,  the  other  led 
him  to  many  odd  adventures  and  frolics.  Once  be  had 
disguised  himself  so,  that  bis  nearest  friends  could  not 
have  known  him,  and  set  up  in  Tower-street  for  an  Italian 
mountebank,  where  he  practised  physic  for  some  weeks. 
He  disguised  himself  often  as  a  porter,  or  as  a  beggar ; 
sometimes  to  follow  some  mean  anpours,  which,  for  the 
variety  of  them,  be  affected.  At  other  times,  merely  for 
diversion,  he  would  go  about  in  odd  shapes ;  in  which  he 
acted  his  part  so  naturally,  that  even  those  who  were  in 
the  secret,  and  saw  him  in.  these  shapes,  could  perceive 
nothing  by  which  be  might  be  discovered..  He  is  said  to 
have  been  a  generous  and  good-natured  man  in  cold  blood, 
jpt  would  go.  far  in  his  heats  after  any  thing  that  might 
turn  to  a  j£st  or  matter  of  diversion  ;  and  be  laid  out  him- 
self very  *  freely  in  libels  and  satires,  in  which  be  bad  so 
peculiar  a  talent  of  mixing  wit  with  malice,  that  all  his 


WILMOT,  15$ 

compositions  were  easily  known.  Andrew  Marvell,  who 
was  himself  a  great  wit,  used  to  say,  "  that  Rochester  was 
the  only  rami  in  England  who  bad  the  true  vein  of  satire*" 

4<  Thus/'  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  in  a  course  of  drunken 
gaiety,  and  gross  sensuality,  with  intervals  of  study  per- 
haps yet  more  criminal,  with  an  avowed  contempt  of  ail 
decency  and  order,  a  total  disregard  to  every  moral,  and  a 
resolute  denial  of  every  religions  obligation,  he  lived  worth- 
less and  useless,  and  blazed  out  his  youth  and  bis  health  in 
lavish  voluptuousness ;  till,  at  the  age  of  one  and  thirty, 
he  had  exhausted  the  fund  of  life,  and  reduced  himself  to 
a.  state  of  weakness  and  decay/9 

In  Oct.  1679,  when  he  was  slowly  recovering  from  a 
severe  disease,  he  was  visited  by  Dr.  Burnet,  upon  an  inti- 
mation that  sufch  a  visit  would  be  very  agreeable  to  him* 
With  great  freedom  he  laid  open  to  that  divine  all  bis 
thoughts  both  of  religion  and  morality,  -and  gave  him  a  full 
view  of  his  past  lite:  on  which  the  doctor  visited  him 
often,  till  he  went  from  London  in  April  following,  and- 
once  or  twice  after.  They  canvassed  at  various  times  the 
principles  of  morality,  natural  and  revealed  religion,  and 
Christianity  in  particular  5  the  result  of  all  which,  as  it  is 
faithfully  related  by  Dr.  Burnet  in  a  book,  which,  Dr. 
Johnson  observes,  "  the  critic  ought  to  read  for  its  ele- 
gance, the  philosopher  for  its  arguments,  and  the  saint  for 
its  piety,"  was,  that  this  noble  earl,  though  he  had  lived 
the  life  of  an  atheist. and  a  libertine,  yet  died  the  death  of 
a  sincere  penitent*  The  philosophers  of  the  present  age 
will  naturally  suppose,  that  his  contrition  and  conviction 
were  purely  the  effects  of  weakness  and  low  spirits,  which 
scarcely  suffer  a  man  to  continue  ii\  his  senses,  and  cer- 
tainly not  to  be  master  of  himself;  but  Dr.  Burnet  affirms 
him  to  have  been  "  under  no  such  decay  as  either  darkened 
or  weakened  bis  understanding,  nor  troubled  with  the  spleen 
or  vapours,  or  under  the  power  of  melancholy."  The 
reader  may  judge  for  himself  from  the  following,  which 
is  part  of  a  letter  from  the  earl  to  Dr.  Burnet,  dated 
"Woodstock-park,  June  25,  1680,  Oxfordshire."  There 
is  nothing  left  out,  but  some  personal  compliments  to  the 
doctor. 

"  My  most  honoured  Dr.  Burnet, 

"  My  spirits  and  body  decay  so  equally  together,  that  I 
shall  write  you  a  letter  as  weak  as  I  am  in  person.    I  begiu 


154  W  I  L  M  O  T. 

to  ralne  churchmen  above  all  men  in  the  world,  &c.  If  God  • 
be  yet  pleased  to  spare  me  longer  in  this  world,  I  hope  in 
your  conversation  to  be  exalted  to  that  degree  of  piety, 
that  the  world  may  see  how  much  I  abhor  what  I  so  long 
loved,  and  how  much  I  glory  in  repentance,  and  in  God's 
service.  Bestow  your  prayers  upon  me,  that  God  would 
spare  me,  if.it  be  his  good  will,  to  shew  a  true  repentance 
and  amendment  of  life  for  the  time  to  come ;  or  else,  if  the 
Lord  pleaseth  to  put  an  end  to  my  worldly  being  now,  that 
he  would  mercifully  accept  of  my  death-bed  repentance, 
and  perform  that  promise  he  hath  been  pleased  to  make, 
that  'at  what  time  soever  a  sinner  doth  repeat,  he  would 
receive  him.*  Put  up  these  prayers,  most  dear  doctor,  to 
Almighty  God,  for  your  most  obedient  and  languishing 
servant,  Rochester:." 

He  died  July  26  follbwing,  without  any  convulsion,  or 
so  much  as  a  groan  :  for,  though  he  had  not  completed  his 
thirty-third  year,  he  was  worn  so  entirely  down,  that  all  the 
powers  of  nature  were  exhausted.  He  left  behind  him  a' 
son*  named  Charles,  who  died  Nov.  12,  1681  ;  and  three 
daughters*.  The  male  line  ceasing,  Charles  II.  conferred 
the  title  of  Rochester  on  Laurence  viscount  Killingworth,  a 
younger  son  of  Edward  earl  of  Clarendon. 

The  earl  of  Rochester  was  a  graceful  and  well-shaped 
person,  tall,  and  well-made,  if  not  a  little  too  slender,  as 
Burnet  observes.  "  He  was,"  says  Johnson,  "eminent  for  the 
vigour  of  his  colloquial  wit,  and  remarkable  for  many  wild 
pranks  and  sallies  of  extravagance.  The  glare  of  his  ge- 
neral character  diffused  itself  upon  his  writings ;  the  com- 
positions of  a  man  whose  name  was  heard  so  often  were 
certain  of  attention,  and  from  many  readers  certain  of  ap- 
plause. This  blaze  of  reputation  is  not  yet  quite  extin- 
guished ;  and  his  poetry  still  retains  some  splendour  be- 
yond that  which  genius  has  bestowed. 

'«  Wood  and  Burnet  give  us  reason  to  believe,  that  much 
was  imputed  to  him  which  he  did  not  write.  It  is  not 
known  by  whom  the  original  collection  was  made,  or  by 
what  authority  its  genuineness  was  ascertained.  The  first 
edition  was  published  in  the  year  of  his  death,  with  an  air 
of  concealment,  professing  in  the  title-page  to  be  printed 

*  In  the  London  Chronicle  for  Feb.  at  her  lodgings  in  Fleet-street,   Mrs. 

11,1*765,  and  probably  in  other  pa-  Arabella  Wiltnot,  a  natural   daughter 

pers,  we  read  the  following :  "  Yester-  of  the  famous  eail  of  Rochester,  the  ce- 

day  morning  died,  in  an  advanced  age,  lebrated  wit  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II." 


W  I  L.M-Q  TV  155 

at  Antwerp.  Of  some  of  the  pieces,  however,  there  is  tip' 
doubt.  The  Imitation  of  Horace's  Satire,  tbe  Verses  to 
lord  Mulgrave,  tbe  Satire  against  Man,  tbe  verses  upon* 
Nothing,  and  perhaps  some  others,  are  I  believe  genuine, 
and  perhaps  most  of  those  which  ihe  collection  exhibits. 
As  he  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  found  leisure  for  any 
course  of  continued  study,  his  pieces  are  commonly  short, 
such  as  one  fit  of  resolution  would  produce.  His  songs' 
have  no  particular  character ;  they  tell,  like  other  songs, 
in  smooth  and  easy  language,  of  scorn  and  kindness,  dis*-' 
mission  and  desertion,  absence,  and  inconstancy,  with  the' 
common-places  of  artificial  courtship.  They  are  commonly 
smooth  and  easy ;  but  have  little  nature,  and  little  senti*-* 
ment.  His  imitation  of  Horace  on  Lucilius  is  not  inele- 
gant or  unhappy.  In  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second  be- 
gan tbat  adaptation,  which  has  since  been  very  frequent, 
of  ancient  poetry  to  present  times  ;  and  perhaps  few  will- 
be  found  where  the  parallelism  is  better  preserved  than  in 
this*  The  versification  is  indeed  sometimes  careless,  but 
it  is  sometimes  vigorous  and  weighty.  The  strongest  effort 
of  his  muse  is  his  poem  upon  "  Nothing/'  Another  of  his 
most  vigorous  pieces  is  his  lampoon  upon  sir  Carr  Scrope. 
Of  the  satire  against  Man,  Rochester  can  only  claim  what 
remains  when  all  Bbileau's  part  is  taken  away.  In  all  his 
works  there  is  sprightliness  and  vigour,  and  everywhere- 
may  be  found  tokens  of  a  mind  which  study  might  have' 
carried  to  excellence.  What  more  can  be  expected  from' 
a  life  spent  in  ostentatious  contempt  of  regularity,  and' 
ended  before  tbe  abilities  of  many  other  men  began  to  be 
displayed  ?"  The  late  George  Steevens;  esq.  made  the  se- 
lection of  Rochester's  poems  which  appears  in  Dr.  John-- 
son's  edition ;-  but  Mr.  Malone  observes,  that  the  same  task* 
had  been  performed  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century 
by  Jacob  Tonson.  * 

WILMOT  (John  Eardley),  a  learned  lawyer,  and  lord- 
chief  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  was  the  second' 
son  of  Robert  Wilmot,  of  Osmaston  in  the  county  of  Derby, 
esq.  and  of  Ursula,  one  of  the  daughters  and  coheiresses  of 
sir  Samuel  Marow,  of  Berks  well,  in  tbe  county  of  Warwick,, 
bart.  He  was  born  Aug.  16,  1709,  at  Derby,  where  his  fa- 
ther then  lived,  and  after  having  acquired  the  rudiments 

■  Life  by  Bp.  Burnet.— Johnson's  Poets.—  Biog.  B lit— Park's  Edition  of  tbe. 
Royal  and  Noble  Authors. 


156  WILMOT. 

of  learning  at  the  free-school  in  that  town,  tinder  the  Ber, 
Mr.  Bfockwell,  was  placed  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hunter  at 
Lichfield,  where  he  waa  contemporary  with  Johnson  ami 
Garrick.  At  an  after  period  of  his  life  it  could  be  remarked 
that  there  were  then  five  judges  upon  the  bench  who  had 
been  educated  at  Lichfield  school,  viz.  Willes,  Parker; 
Noel,  Lloyd,  and  Wilmot.  In  Jan.  1724,  he  was  removed 
to  Westminster-school,  and  placed  under  Dr.  Freind ;  and 
here,  and  at  Trinity-ball,  Cambridge,  where  he  resided 
until  Jan.  1728,  be  laid  the'  foundation  of  many  friendships* 
which  he  preserved  through  a  long  life.  At  the  university 
he  contracted  a  passion  for  study  and  retirement  that  never 
quitted  him,  and  be  was  often  beard  to  say,  that  at  tbisv 
time  the  height  of  his  ambition  was  to  become  a  fellow  of; 
Trinity- ball,  and  to  pass  bis  life  in  that  learned  society* 
His  natural  disposition  had  induced  him  to  give  the  pre- 
ference to  the  church;  but  his  father*  wbo  was  a  man  of 
sagacity  as  well  as  of  reading,  had  destined  him  to  the 
study  of  the  law,  which  be  accordingly  prosecuted  with 
much  diligence  at  the  Inner  Temple,  and  was  called  to  the 
bar  in  June  1731.  In  174:5  be  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Rivett,  of  Derby,  esq. 

We.  are  not  acquainted  with  any  interesting  particulars? 
of  Mr.  Wilmot's  life  between  the  period  of  his  leaving  the 
university  and  his  being  in  a  considerable  degree  of  prac- 
tice as  a  barrister :  but  as  duty  and  •  filial  piety,  more  than 
inclination,  bad  induced  him  to  embrace  the  profession  of 
the  law,  his  pursuit  after  its  emoluments  was  not  eager, 
though  his  study  of  it  was  unremitted.  He  was  regular  in 
bis  attendance  on  the  terms,  but  his  practice  was  at  this 
time  chiefly  confined  to  the  county  of  Derby,  where  he 
was  much  respected.  In  town  his  business  was  not  great ; 
yet  in  those  causes  in  which  be  was  engaged,  his  merit, 
learning,  and  eloquence,  were  universally  acknowledged, 
and  gained  him  the'  esteem  and  approbation  of  some  of 
the  greatest  ornaments  of  the  profession,  among  whom 
were  sir  Dudley  Ryder,  then  attorney-general,  and  the 
lord  chancellor  Hardwicke.  In  1753,  the  chancellor  pro- 
posed to  make  him  one  of  his  majesty's  counsel,  und  after- 
wards king's  serjeant :  but  both  these  be  decliued,  chiefly 
from  a  disinclination  to  London  business,  and  a  wish,  that 
never  left  bim,  of  retiring  altogether  into  the  country.  On 
this  he  was  so  determined  that  in  1754,  he  actually  made 
what  he  called  bis  farewell  speech  in  the  court  of  exchequer, 


WILMOT.  1$7. 

* 

which  he  bad  of  late  yean  attended  more  than  any  ether* 
Perhaps  his  disposition  was  not  calculated  for  forensic  dis- 
putation, though  bis  profound  .knowledge  and  indefatigable 
labour,  as  well  as  ability  and  penetration,  had  made  him9  ip 
the  opinion  of  those  who  knew  him,  one  of  the  best  law** 
yers*  of  his  time.  He  had  more  than  one  offer  of  a  seat  in 
the  House  of  Commons  about  this  period,  but  he  uuiformly 
declined  every  temptation  of  this  kind.  He  had  not  hew* 
ever  long. enjoyed  his  retirement  in  Derbyshire  before  he 
received  a  summons  to  town  to  succeed  sir  Martin  Wright, 
as  judge  of  the  court  of  King9 s  Bench.  With  much  per-» 
suasion,  aided  perhaps  by  the  increase  of  his  family,  con* 
sistiog  now  of  five  children,  be  was  induced  to  accept  this 
preferment  in  February  1733,  which  was  accompanied,  as 
usual,  with  the  honour  of  knighthood.  It  is  not  known  to 
what  interest  he  owed  this  promotion,  and  it  seems  most 
fair  to  conclude  that  a  sense  of  bis  merit  only  must  have 
induced  bis  patrons  to  send  to  the  country  for  one  so  reso- 
lute on  retirement,  when  so  many,  at  hand,  would  hav? 
been  glad  to  accept  the  office. 

.  In  the  autumn  of.  1736,  lord  Hard wi eke  resigned  the 
great  seal,  wbichxontinued  for  about  a  year  in  the  bauds 
<>f  three  lords  commissioners,  chief  justice  Willes,  sir  S*  S. 
Smytbe,  and  sir  John  Eardley  Wilmot.  In  March  1757, 
sir  Eardley  bad  a  most  providential  escape  from  being 
destroyed  at  Worcester  by  the  fall  of  a  stack  of  chimneys 
through  the  roof  into  court  His  first,  clerk  was  killed  at 
his  feet,  also  the  attorney  in  the  cause  then  trying,  two  of 
the  jurymen,  and  some  others.  Sir  Eardley  was  beginning 
to  sum  up  the  evidence  when  the  catastrophe  happened. 
Sir  Eardley  continued  about  nine  years  longer,  as  one  of 
the  puisne  judges  of  the  court  of  Ring's  Bench.  The 
King's  Bench  was  at  this  time  filled  with  men  of  distin- 
guished talents,  and  it  is  do  small,  honour  to  sir, Eardley 
Wilmot  that  he  sat  for  a  long  period  as  the  worthy  coUe^ue 
of  Mansfield,  Dennison,  and  Foster,  ■.  Though  tjie  part  £e 
took  was  no*  a  very  cpnspicuous  one,  from  bis  situational. 
the  bench,  and  from  bis  native  modesty,  yet;  hi*  l^^thr^uV 
and  those  who  were  acquainted. with  Westminster-ball  at' 
that  period*  bore  testimony  that  his  active  mind  was  ft(ways 
engaged,  either  in  or  out  of.  court,  ip  elucidating  some.pb. 
soure  point,  ip  nicely  weighing  questions  of  the  greatest 
digtculty,  aiftdiio  contributing;  hi*  ahare.towards  esppditiag 
Md  deciding  the  important  suits  then  under  discusjipp ; 


•■i » 


f 48  W  IL'MO  t; 

t 

nor  was  he  less  eminent  in  that  important  branch  o£hs&ju* 
dicial  office,  the  administration  of  the  criminal  justice  of 
the  kingdom ;  and  while  his  pervading  mind  suffered  few 
crimes  to  escape  detection  and  punishment,  his  humanity 
and  compassion  were  often  put  to  the  severest  trials. 

Among  many  other  parts  of  this  laborious  profession,  to 
which  sir  Eardley  bad  given  unremitting  attention,  is  that 
ef  taking  notes,  to  which  he  bad  invariably  accustomed 
himself  both  before  and  after  he  was  called  to  the  ban 
These  notes  were  transcribed  by  his1  clerk,  and  be  thus  by 
degrees  became  possessed  of  many  volumes  of  MS.  notes, 
both  in  law  and  equity.  The  same  practice  be  continued 
after  he  was  raised  to  the  bench,  till  he  beard  that  Mr* 
(afterwards  sir  James)  Burrow  intended  to  publish  bis  notes 
from  the  time  of  lord  Mansfields  being  appointed  chief 
justice ;  but  he  uniformly  lent  Mr.  Burrow  bis  papers  from 
this  period,  and  with  such*  short  notes  as  be  took  himself* 
We  may  here  mention  that  the  "  Notes  of  Opinions  deli- 
vered in  different  courts,"  by  sir  John  Eardley  Wilmoty 
were  published  in  1802,  4to,  by  his  son,  with  a  memoir  of 
his  life,  from  which  we  have  extracted  the  present  account, 

Although  sir  Eardley  persevered  unremittingly  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty,  it  was  not  without  a  frequent  sigh  for 
a  more  quiet  and  retired  station  than  that  of  the  court  of 
King's  Bench.  In  1765,  a  serious  treaty  was  set  on  foot 
by  him,  to  exchange  his  present  tiffice  for  one,  not  less 
honourable  indeed,  but  undoubtedly  at  that  time  less  lu- 
crative and  less  conspicuous,  that  of  chief  justice  of  Ches- 
ter, which  was  then  held  by  Mr-  Morton  \  but  the  treaty 
was  at  length  Woken  off,  and  when  in  the  summer  of  1766, 
lord  Camden,  who  had  been  chief  justice  of  the  common 
pleas  about  four  years,  was  appointed  lord  chancellor,  sir 
Eardley  was  promoted  to  the  chief  justiceship  in  bis  room. 
Here,  however,  as  in  former  instances,  his  friends  bad  no 
little  trouble  in  overcoming  his  repugnance  to  a  more  ele- 
vated situation.  It  is  believed,  that  next  to  bis  character 
for  learning  and  integrity,  he  was  indebted  for  this  pre- 
ferment, to  the  high  opinion  and  esteem  of  both  the  old 
and  new  chancellor,  and  also  to  the  friendship  of  lord  Shel- 
bo/rne,  appointed  at  that  time  one  of  the  secretaries  of 
state.  His  lordship,  though  a  much  younger  man,  had 
ever  since  his  first  acquaintance  with  him,  several  years 
before,  .conceived  so  great  an  admiration  of  his  talents, 
and  esteem  for  his  virtues,  that  he  had  long  lived  with  him 


W  I  L  M  O  T.  lit 

in  habits  of  thel  greatest  intimacy  and  friendship;  In  the 
evening  of  the  day  that  sir  Eardley  kissed  hands  on  being 
appointed  chief  justice,  one  of  his  sons,  a  youth  of  seven- 
teen, attended  him  at  his  bed-side.  "  Now,"  said  he,  "aijr 
son,  I  will  tell  you  a  secret  worth  your  knowing  and  re- 
membering ;  the  elevation  I  have  met  with  in  life,  parti- 
cularly this  last  instance  of  it,  has  not  been  owing  to  any 
superior  merit  or  abilities,  but  to  my  humility,  to  my  not 
having  set  up  myself,  above  others,  and  to  an  uniform  en- 
deavour to  pass  through  life,  void  of  offence  towards  God 
and  man."  Sir  Eardley  was  now  called  to  preside  in  a 
court  where  he  had  many  seniors  on  the  bench ;  but  the 
appointment  gave  general  satisfaction,  and  his  acknow- 
ledged abilities,  his  unaffected  modesty  and  courtesy,  soon 
made  htm  as  much  esteemed  and  beloved  in  his  new  court* 
as  he  had  been  before  in  his  old  one. 

In  1768,  bishop  Warburton,  who  had  the  highest  opi- 
nion of  sir  Eardley,  requested  him  to  become  one  of  the 
first  trustees^  of  his  lectureship  at  Lincoln's-inn  chapel* 
along  with  lord  Mansfield  and  Mr.  Yorke;  and  this  being 
complied  with,  in  1769,  sir  Eardley  requested  his  assist- 
ance and  advice  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  his  sons  pre- 
paring himself  for  the  church.  The  bishop  complied,  and 
sent  him  the  first  part  of  some  "  Directions  for  the  study  of 
Theology,9'  which  have  since  been  printed  iri  Warburton'* 
works,  being  given  to  his  editor,  Dr.  Hurd,  by  the  son  to  whom 
they  were  addressed,  the  late  John  Eardley  -Wilofot,  esq* 
Circumstances  afterwards  induced  this  son  to  go  into  the 
profession  of  the  law,  on  which  sir  Eardley,  in  1771,  made 
the  following  indorsement  on  the  bishop's  paper.  "  These 
directions  were  given  me  by  Dr.  Warburton,  bishop  of* 
Gloucester,  for  the  use  of  my  son,  when  he  proposed  to  g* 
into  orders;  but,  in  the  year  1771,  he  unfortunately  pre* 
ferred  the  bar  to  the. pulpit,  and,  instead  of  lying  upon  a 
bed  of  roses,  ambitioned  a  crown  of  thorns.  Digne  puer 
mdiore  flarmnal"  This  shews  how  uniform  sir  Eardley 
was,  from  his  earliest  youth,  in  his  predilection  for  the 
church,  a  predilection  which  probably  influenced,  more  or 
legs,  every  act  of  his  life*  It  was  about  this  time,  viz.  1769, 
that  sir  Eardley  presided  in  the  memorable  cause  of  Mr. 
Wilkes  against  lord  Halifax  and  others,  a  period  pf  great 
bent  and  violence,  both  in  parliament  and  in  the  nation ; 
but  be  was.  so  entirely  free  from  all  political  bias,  th&t  hi* 
conduct  gave  universal  satisfaction.     It  was  an  action  of 


*60  W  I  L  M  O  T. 

trespass  for  false  imprisonment,  damages  laid  at  SO,6ot>/. ; 
Mr.  Wilkes  having  been  taken  tip  and  confined  in  the 
Tower,  and  bis  papers  seized  and  taken  away,  by  virtue  of 
a  general  warrant  from  lord  Halifax,  one  of  bis  majesty's 
secretaries  of  state.  Sir  Eardley's  speech  is  published  itt 
bis  Life,  and  does  great  credit  to  bis  impartiality.  The 
jury  gave  4000/.  damages. 

On  the  resignation  of  lord  Camden,  and  the  subsequent 
death  of  Mr.  Yorke,  in  January  1770,  the  great  seal,  with 
other  honours,  was  offered  to  sir  Eardley  by  the  duke  df 
Grafton,  and  was  again  pressed  upon  him  in  the  course  of  that 
year  by  lord  North,  the  duke's  successor,  but  in  vain.  Ha 
was  at  this  time  too  fixed  in  his  resolution  of  retiring  alto* 
gether  from  public  business,  and  it  seemed  to  him  a  good 
opportunity  to  urge  the  same  reason  for  resigning  the  office 
be  held,  as  for  declining  the  one  that  was  offered  him, 
namely,  ill  health,  which  bad  prevented  him  occasionally 
from  attending  his  court.  His  intention  was  to  have  re* 
signed  without  receiving  any  pension  from  the  crown ;  but 
when  bis  resignation  was  accepted  in  1771,  be  wa»  much 
surprised  and  disconcerted  to  find,  that  be  vas  to  receive 
a  pension  for  life.  This  he  withstood' in  two  several  inter* 
views  with  the  first  lord  of  the  treasury  $  but  his  majesty 
having  desired  to  see  him  at  Buckingham  house,  was  pleased 
to  declare,  that  he  could  not  suffer  so  faithful  a  servant  to 
the  public  to  retire,  without  receiving  this  mark  of  appro* 
bation  and  reward  for  his  exemplary  services.  After  this, 
sir  Eardley  thought  it  would  be  vanity  and  affectation  to 
contend  any  longer ;  and  certainly  his  private  fortune 
would  not  have  enabled  him  to  live  in  the  manner  to  which 
he  had  been  accustomed.  But  as  he  was  thus  liberally 
provided  for  by  his  majesty's  bounty,  be  thought  the  least 
he  could  do  was  to  make  every  return  in  his  power ;  and 
having  the  honour  of  being  one  of  his  majesty's  privy 
council,  he,  in  conjunction  with  the  venerable  sir  Thomas 
Parker,  who  bad  been  chief  baron  of  the  exchequer,  uni- 
formly attended  the  appeals  to  the  king  in  council  till  17S2, 
when  his  increasing  infirmities  obliged  him  to  give  up  this 
last  part  of  what  he  thought  his  public  duty.  Of  his  infir- 
mities he  gives  a  most  affecting  proof  in  a  short  letter  to 
earl  Gower,  dated  Jan.  12  of  that  year.  "  My  sight  and 
bearing  are  extremely  impaired  ;  but  my  memory  is  so 
•hook,  that  if  1  could  read  a  case  over  twenty  times,  I 
could  neither  understand  nor  remember  it ;  and  ai  my 


W  I  L  M  O  ? .  lei 

Attendance  at  council  would  only  expose  my  infirmities 
without  being  of  any  service  to  the  public,  I  caunot  think 
Of  ever  putting  myself  into  such  a  disagreeable  situation." 

He  now  retired  totally  from  public  business,  and  saw 
very  little  company  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  except 
a  few  friends,  whom  time  bad  hitherto  spared.  His  retreat 
from  business  not  only  procured  him  ease  and  health,  but 
probably  lengthened  his  life.  He  died  Feb.  5,  1792,  aged 
eighty- two.  He  left  his  eldest  surviving  son  his  sole  exe- 
cutor, with  express  directions,  in  his  own  hand-writing,  for 
a  plain  marble  tablet  to  be  put  up  in  the  church  of  Berks- 
well,  in  the  county  of  Warwick,  with  an  inscription,  con- 
taining an  account  of  his  birth,  death,  the  dates  of  his  ap- 
pointments, and  names  of  his  children,  "without  any  other 
addition  whatever.'9 

Sir  Eardley's  person  was  of  the  middle  size :  his  counte- 
nance commanding  and  dignified  ;  his  eye  lively,  tempered 
with  sweetness  and  benignity  ;  his  knowledge  extensive 
and  profound  ;  and  pfcrhaps  nothing  but  invincible  modesty 
prevented  him  from  equalling  the  greatest  of  his  prede- 
cessors, and  fettered  his  abilities  and  learning.  Though 
not  fond  of  the  law  as  a  profession,  he  always  declared  his 
partiality  for  tbe  study  of  it,  and  he  was  also  well  versed  in 
the  civil  law ;  a  general  scholar,  but  particularly  conver- 
sant with  those  branches  which  had  a  near  connexion  with 
his  legal  pursuits,  such  as  history  and  antiquities,  and  be 
was  one  of  the  first  fellows  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
incorporated  in  \150.  In  private  life  be  excelled  in  all 
those  qualities  which  render  a  man  respected  and  beloved. 
Genuine  and  uniform  humility  was  one  of  his  most  charac- 
teristic virtues.1 

WILMOT  (John  EarDleY),  second  son  of  the  prer 
ceding,  was  borp  in  1748,  and  received  the  first  rudiments 
of  education  at  Derby  and  at  Westminster  schools,  at  both 
which  places  he  remained  but  a  very  short  time.  From 
thence  he  was  placed  at  tbe  academy  at  Brunswick ;  and 
having  remained  there  till  he  was  seventeen,  he  went  to 
University  college,  Oxford,  where  he  was  contemporary 
with  many  men  who  have  since  distinguished  themselves 
in  public  and  private  life.  He  was  at  first  intended  for  the 
church,  as  we  have  seen  in  our  account  of  his  father ;  but;, 
upon  the  death  of  his  elder  brother  in  the  East  Indies,  and 

■  Memoirs  At  above. 

Vol,  XXXII.  M 


162  WILMO  f.       » 

upon  the  elevation  of  his  father  to  one  df  the  highest  judi- 
cial situations,  his  intended  pursuits  were  changed,  and  the 
profession  of  the  law  was  ultimately  fixed  upon.  From  All 
Souls  college,  of  which  he  had  been  elected  a  fellow,  he 
Removed  to  the  Temple,  and  studied  the  law  under  the 
superintendance  of  sir  Eardley.  He  was  at  the  usual  time 
called  to  the  bar,  and  went  the  Midland  circuit.  He  soon 
after  married  the  only  daughter  of  S.  Sainthill,  esq.  by 
whom  he  had  four  daughters  and  one  son,  all  of  whom  sur- 
vived him. 

In  1783,  he  was  made  a  master  in  chancery,  having  been, 
chosen  for  Tiverton,  in  Devonshire,  in  the  two  preceding 
parliaments.  Though  seldom  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
debates  of  those  times,  he  was  always  attentive  to  the  im- 
portant duties  of  a  member  of  parliament,  and  constant  m 
his  attendance  in  the  House.  He  uniformly  opposed  the 
American  war,  and  though  at  the  termination  of  that  con- 
test, when  the  claims  of  the  American  loyalists  were  to  be 
inquired  into,  and  satisfied,  it  was  most  natural  to  suppose 
that  some  gentleman  on  the  other  side  of  the  House  would 
have  been  appointed  commissioner  for  that  purpose,  yet 
Mr.  Wil mot's  known  abilities,  integrity,  and  benevolence, 
were  so  universally  acknowledged,  that  his  nomination  to 
that  arduous  office  gave  perfect  satisfaction.  How  far  the 
labours  of  himself  and  colleagues  were  crowned  with  suc- 
cess, the  universal  approbation  of  this  country,  and  of 
America,  sufficiently  testify. 

In  1784  he  was  elected,  with  lord  Eardley,  his  brother- 
in-law,  member  for  Coventry,  in  opposition  to  lord  Shef- 
field and  Mr.  Conway,  now  marquis  of  Hertford,  whither 
they  had  gone  to  add  to  the  triumphant  majority  which 
ultimately  secured  Mr.  Pitt  in  his  situation  as  prime  minister. 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1790,  that  the  revolutionary 
storm,  so  long  collecting  in  France,  suddenly  discharged 
itself;  and  an  immense  number  of  French  clergy  and  laity 
took  refuge  in  this  country.  The  subject  of  these  memoirs 
was  then  in  town  ;  and  the  continual  scenes  of  distress  he 
was  daily  witnessing  in  the  streets,  added  to  particular  in- 
stances of  misery  which  came  under  his  own  immediate  ob- 
servation, induced  him  alone,  without  previous  communi- 
cation with  any  one,  to  advertize  for  a  meeting  of  the  gen- 
tlemen then  in  town,  at  the  Freemason's  Tavern,  to  take 
into  consideration  some  means  of  affording  relief  to  their 
Christian  brethren.    The  meeting  was  most  numerous  and 


W  I  L  M  6  f .  16& 

rfespectablfe ;  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  many  bishops* 
and  most  of  the  nobility  then  in  London,  attending;  and 
Mr.  Wilmot  being  called  to  the  chair,  and  having  stated 
his  object  in  calling  them  together,  subscriptions  to  a  large 
amount  were  immediately  entered  into;  and  a  fund  created* 
which,  with  the  assistance  of  parliament,  and  the  contri- 
butions of  every  parish  in  the  kingdom,  relieved,  and  cori* 
tinued  to  relieve  until  the  late  prosperous  events  rendered  a 
continuance  unnecessary,  those  unhappy  exiles  from  their 
native  country.  Mr. Wilmot  continued,  till  he  retired  into 
the  country  a  few  years  before  his  death,  to  dispense  under; 
government  this  national  bounty  ;  a  task  well  suited  to  that 
universal  benevolence  and  kindness  of  heart  which  so 
eminently  distinguished  him,  and  in  which  he  had  few 
equals,  and  none  superior. 

In  17S3  he  married  a  second  wife,  Sarah  Anne,  daughter! 
*of  col.  Haslatri ;  by  whom  he  had  a  son  and  a  daughter, 
both  of  whom  died  in  their  infancy; 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1304,  that,  finding  himself  ill 
able*  from  bodily  infirmity,  to  continue  the  various  em- 
ployments be  had  so  long  zealously  fulfilled,  as  also  frortl 
an  innate  and  hereditary  love  of  retirement  and  study,  he 
resolved  to  quit  London  entirely,  and  live  in  the  country* 
He  accordingly  resigned  his  mastership  in  chancery,  his 
situation  as  distributor  of  relief  to  the  French  refugees, 
and  some  of  the  many  important  trusts  which  his  own  kind- 
ness and  the  importunity  of  friends  had  induced  him  to 
accept.  He  bought  Bruce  castle,  formerly  the  seat  of  the 
Coleraine  family,  situated  at  Tottenham,  about  five  miles 
from  London  ;  near  enough  to  town  to. continue  what  re- 
mained of  the  duty  of  commissioner  of  American  claims, 
and  to  discharge  several  trusts,  which  were  of  a  family  na- 
ture. Here  he  passed  a,  considerable  part  of  his  time  in 
reading  and  study,  and  prepared  his  father's  notes  and 
reports  for  the  press,  with  the  Memoirs  of  his  life  already 
mentioned.  The  "  Memoirs**  were  sold  separately,  with 
a  fine  engraving  of  sir  Eardley,  from  a  painting  by  Dawe. 
Soon  after,  he  engaged  on  the  Life  and  Letters  of  bishop 
Hough,  which  appeared  in  a  very  splendid  4to  volume  in 
1812.  Besides  these,  he  published  in  1779  "  A  s*hort  De- 
fence of  the  Opposition/'  in  answer  to  a  pamphlet  entitled 
€€  A  short  History  of  the  Opposition  ;"  and  in  1780  he  col- 
lated "  A  treatise  of  the  Laws  and  Customs  of  England/' 
written  by  Kanylf  Glanvil,  in  the  time  of  Henry  II.  with 

M  2 


164  W  1  L  M  O  T. 

the  MSS.  in  the  Harleian,  Cotton ian,  Bodleian,  and  Dr. 
Mills' a  libraries,  and  printed  it  in  Latin,  12mo.  His  Fast 
laboiir  was  a  "  History  of  the  Commission  of  American 
Claims,1*  printed  in  1815. 

Mr.  Wilmot  died  at  Tottenham,  June  23,  1315,  in  the 
sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  lamented  by  all  who  knew 
the  virtues  of  his  public  and  private  character.  * 

WILSON  (Arthur),  an  English  historian,  was  the  son 
of  Richard  Wilson,  of  Yarmouth,  in  the  county  of  Nor* 
folk,  gentleman  ;  and  was  born  in  that  county,  1596.  la 
1609  he  went  to  France,  where  he  continued  almost  two 
years ;  and  upon  his  return  to  England  was  placed  with  sir 
Henry  Spiller,  to  be  one  of  his  clerks  in  the  exchequer 
office ;  in  whose  family  be  resided  till  having  written  some 
satirical  verses  upon  one  of  the  maid-servants,  he  was  dis- 
missed at  lady  Spiller' s  instigation.  In  1613  he  took  a 
lodging  in  Holborn,  where  he  applied  himself  to  reading 
and  poetry  for  some  time ;  and,  the  year  after,  was  taken 
into  the  family  x>f  Robert  earl  of  Essex,  whom  be  attended 
into  the  Palatinate  in  1620;  to  the  siege  of  Dornick,  in 
Holland,,  in  1621  ;  to  that  of  Rees  in  1622  ;  to  Arnheim, 
in  1623  ;  to  the  siege  of  Breda  in  1624 ;  and  in  the  expe- 
dition to  Cadiz  in  1625.  In  1630  he  was  discharged  the 
earl's  service,  at  the  importunity  of  his  lady,  who  hadxocv- 
ceived  an  aversion  to  him,  because  she  had  supposed  him 
to  have  been  against  the  earl's  marrying  her.  He  tells  us, 
in  his  own  life,  that  this  lady's  name,  before  she  married 
the  earl,  was  Elizabeth  Paulet ;  that  "  she  appeared  to  the 
eye  a  beauty,  full  of  harmless  sweetness  ;  that  her  conver- 
sation was  affable  and  gentle ;  «and,  as  he  was  firmly  per* 
suaded,  that  it  was  not  forced,  but  natural.  But  the  height 
of  her  marriage  and  greatness  being  an  accident,  altered 
her  very  nature ;  for,"  he  says,  "  she  was  the  true  im^ge 
of  Pandora's  box,"*  nor  was  he  much  mistaken,  for  this 
lady  was  divorced  for  adultery  two  years  after  her  mar- 
riage. In  1631  he  retired  to  Oxford,  and  became  gentle- 
man commoner  of  Trinity  college,  where  he  stayed  almost 
two  years,  and  was  punctual  in  his  compliance  with  the 
laws  of  the  university.  Then  he  was  sent  for  to  be  steward 
to  the  earl  of  Warwick,  whom  he  attended  in  1637  to  the 
siege  of  Breda.  He  died  in  1652,  at  Felstead,  in  Essex, 
and  his  will  was  proved  in  October  of  that  year.     The  earl 

i  Gent  Mag.  toI.  IXXXV. 


WILSON.  165 

and  countess  of  Warwick  received  from  him  the  whole  of 
fais  library,  and  50/.  to  be  laid  out  in  purchasing  a  piece  of 
gold  plate,  as  a  memorial,  particularly  applying  to  the 
latter,  "  in  testimony,"  as  he  adds,  "  of  my  humble  duty 
And  gratitude  for  all  her  noble  and  undeserved  favours  to 
me."  Gratitude  seems  to  have  been  a  strong  principle 
with  Wilson,  as  appears  from  his  life,  written  by  himself, 
and  printed  in  Peck's  "  Desiderata."  Wood's  account  of 
him  is,  that  "  be  had  little  skill  in  the  Latin  tongue,  less 
in  the  Greek,  a  good  readiness  in  the  Freucb,  and  some 
smattering  in  the  Dutch.  He  was  well  seen  in  the  ma- 
thematics and  poetry,  and  sometimes  in  the  common  law 
of  the  nation.  He  had  composed  some  comedies,  which 
were  acted  at  the  Black  Friars,  in  London,  by  the  king's 
players,  and  in  the  act-time  at  Oxford,  with  good  applause, 
himself  being  present ;  but  whether  they  are  printed  I  can- 
not yet  tell ;  sure  I  am,  that  I  have  several  specimens  of 
his  poetry  printed  in  divers  books.  His  carriage  was  very 
courteous  and  obliging,  and  such  as  did  become  a  well- 
bred 'gentleman.  He  also  had  a  great  command  of  the 
English  tongue,  as  well  in  writing  as  speaking ;  and,  had 
he  bestowed  his  endeavours  on  any  other  subject  than  that 

v  of  history,  they  would  without  doubt  have  seemed  better. 
For,  in  those  things  which  he  hath  done,  are  wanting  the 

'  principal  matters  conducing  to  the  completion  of  that  fa- 
culty, viz.  matter  from  record,  exact  time,  name,  and 
place,  which,  by  his  endeavouring  too  much  to  set  out  his 
bare  collections  in  an  affected  and  bombastic  style,  are 
much  neglected."  The  history  here  alluded  to  by  Wood, 
is  "  The  Life  and  Reign  of  king  James  I."  printed  in  Lon- 
don in  1653,  folio;  that  is,  the  year  after  his  death;  and 
reprinted  in  the  2d  volume  of  "  The  complete  History  of 
England,"  in  1706,  folio.  This  history  has  been  severely 
treated  by  many  writers.  Mr.  William  Sanderson  says,  that, 
**to  give  Wilson  his  due,  we  may  find  truth  and  falsehood 
finely  put  together  in  it."  Heylin,  in  the  general  preface 
to  his  u  Examen,"  styles  Wilson's  history  "  a  most  famous 
pasquil  of  the  reign  of  king  James ;  in  which  it  is  not  easy  to 
judge  whether  the  matter  be  more  false,  or  the  style  more 
reproachful  to  all  parts  thereof."  Mr.  Thomas  Fuller,  in  his 
4t  Appeal  of  injured  Innocence,"  observes,  how  Robert 
earl  of  Warwick  told  him  at  Beddington,  that,  when  Wilson's 
book  in  manuscript  was  brought  to  him,  bis  lordship  ex- 
puuged  more  than  an  hundred  offensive  passages :  to  which 


166  WILSON, 

Mr.  Fuller  replied,  "  My  lord,  you  have  done  well ;  and. 
you  had  done  better  if  you  had  put  out  a  hundred  tnore.1* 
Mr.  Wood's  sentence  is,  "  that,  in  our  author's  history, 
may  easily  be  discerned  a  partial  presbyterian  vein,  that 
constantly  goes  through  the  whole  work :  and  it  being  the 
genius  of  those  people  to  pry  more  than  they  should  into 
the  courts  and  comportments  of  princes,  they  do  take  oc-? 
casion  thereupon  to  traduce  and  bespatter  them.  Further 
also,  our  author,  having  endeavoured  in  many  things  tq 
make  the  world  believe  that  king  James  and  his  son  after 
him  were  inclined  to  Popery,  and  to  bring  that  religion 
}nto  England,  hath  made  him  subject  to  many  errors  and 
misrepresentations."  On  the  other  band,  archdeacon 
Echard  tells  us,  that  l(>  Wilson's  History  of  the  life  and 
reign  of  king  James,  though  written  not  without  some 
prejudices  and  rancour  in  respect  to  some  persons,  and  too 
much  with  the  air  of  a  romance,  is  thought  to  be  the  best 
of  that  kind  extant  :'•  and  the  writer  of  the  notes  on  the 
edition  of  it  in  the  "  Complete  History  of  England"  re-? 
marks,  that,  as  to  the  style  of  our  author's  history,  "  it  is 
harsh  and  broken,  the  periods  often  obscure,  and  sometimes 
without  connection  ;  faults,  that  were  common  in  most  wri- 
ters of  that  time.  Though  he  finished  that  history  in  the 
year  1652,  a  little  before  his  death,  when  both  the  monar- 
chy and  hierarchy  were  overturned,  it  does  pot  appear  he 
was  an  enemy  to  either,  but  only  to  the  corruptions  of 
them;  as  he  intimates  irj  the  picture  he  draws  of  himself 
before  that  book." 

The  plays  mentioned  by  Wood  were  "  The  Switzer,n 
? c  The  Corporal,"  and  the  "  Inconstant  Lady,"  all  which 
were  entered  in  Stationers --ball  in  1646  and  1653,  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  they  were  printed.  **  The  Inconstant 
Lady,"  however,  was  lately  printed  at  Oxford  in  1814, 
4 to,  from  a  manuscript  bequeathed  in  1755  to  the  Bodleian 
library  by  Dr.  Rawlinson,  with  curious  notes  by  the  editor, 
and  many  circumstances  of  Wilson's  life  apd  character. J 

WILSON  (Bernard),  an  English  divine  and  writer,  was 
born  in  1689,  and  became  a  member  of  Trinity-college, 
Oxford,  where  he  took  bis  degree  of  B.  A.  in  1712,  and 
that  of  A.  M.  in  1719.  In  the  following  year  he  Was  pre- 
bendary of  Lowtbi,  and  afterwards  of  Scamblesbey  in  the 
church  of  Lincoln  in  1727,  about  which  time  be  was  {Uso 

*  Life  by  himself  ip  Peck.— Ath.  Ox.  vol.  IL 


WILSON.  167 

vicar  of  Newark  in  Nottinghamshire,  master  of  the  hospital 
there,  and  an  alderman.  He  is  thought  to  have  owed  his 
preferments  chiefly  to  bishop  Reynolds  of  Lincoln.  From 
the  crown  he  had  a  prebend  of  Worcester,  and  another  of 
Carborough  in  Lichfield,  where  he  had  a  house  given  him 
by  bishop  Chandler.  *  In  July  1735,  he  was  presented  to 
Bottesford  in  Leicestershire,  but  never  took  possession  of  it. 
In  1737  be  took  his  degree  of  D.  D.  He  died  April  30, 
1772,  aged  eighty-three,  and  was  interred  in  the  church 
of  Newark  with  an  inscription,  extolling  his  extensive  be- 
nevolence, by  bis  nephew  Robert  Wilson  Cracroft,  esq. 

Although  a  man  of  learning  and  address,  of  a  very1 
charitable  disposition,  and  enjoying  distinguished  patron- 
age, he  seems  frequently  to  have  been  involved  in  disputes 
which  cast  some  shade  on  his  character.  At  one  time  he 
received  a  great  accession  of  property,  by  the  will  of  sir 
George  Markbam,  but  was  obliged  to  publish  a  defence  of 
himself,  in  a  quarto  pamphlet,  against  the  insinuations  of 
sir  George's  relations.  In  1747  he  was  prosecuted  for 
breach  of  promise  of  marriage  by  a  Miss  Davids  of  Castle- 
yard,  Holborn,  and  the  case  appeared  to  the  jury  in  such 
a  light,  that  they  gave  7000/.  damages,  yet  we  see  that  he 
was  at  this  time  fifty-eight  years  of  age.  Some  pamphlets 
were  also  published  concerning  his  disputes  with  the  parish 
of  Newark,  to  which  he  left  ample  benefactions,  but  these 
were  lost  to  the  poor  by  the  Mortmain  act.  He  translated 
some  parts  of  Fleury,  but  his  greatest  undertaking  was  a 
translation  of  Thuanus,  of  which  he  published  vol.  I.  in 
1729,  and  vol.  II.  in  1730.  It  is  perhaps  to  be  regretted 
that  want  of  encouragement  obliged  him  to  desist,  for 
these  are  two  elegantly  printed  folios,  and  the  completion 
would  have  done  credit  to  the  age.1 

WILSON  (Florence),  known  in  his  own  time,  among 
scholars,  by  the  name  of  Florentius  Volusenvs,  was. bom 
at  Elgin,  in  Scotland,  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  was  educated  in  his  native  place,  whence  be 
removed  for  academical  studies  to  the  university  of  Aber- 
deen. On  quitting  college,  he  went  to  England,  where 
his  talents  recommended  him  to  the  notice  of  cardinal 
Wolsey,  who  made  him  preceptor  to  his  nephew,  whom  he 
afterwards  accompanied  to  Paris  for  education,  and  re- 
mained with  him  till  the  death  of  Wolsey,  which  for  4 

1  Nichols's  Bowyer. 


16S  WILSON, 

time  eclipsed  bis  prospects.  <  He  was  soon  afterwards  taken 
under  the  protection  of  the  learned  cardinal  du  Bellai9 
archbishop  of  Paris,  but  here  again  the  disgrace  at  court 
of  this  second  patron  proved  a  severe  disappointment. 
Wilson,  however,  adhered  to  the  cardinal,  and  would  have 
accompanied  him  to  Rome,  but  he  fell  sick  at  Avignon, 
aqd  the  cardinal  being  obliged  to  leave  him,  his  finances 
were  too  much  exhausted  to  allow  any  thoughts  of  bis  ac- 
complishing the  journey  alone,  and  his  patron's  change,  of 
fortune  having  probably  put  the  offer  of  sufficient  assist* 
ance  out  of  his  power,  Mr.  Wilson  found  himself  com*, 
pelled  to  abandon  a  project,  in  which  both  affection  and 
curiosity  had  so  warmly  interested  his  heart 

At  this  time  the  cardinal  Sadolet  was  in  residence  upon 
bis  bishopric  of  Carpentras.     His  name  in  the  republic  of 
letters  was  inferior  to  very  few.  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries ;  nor  was  he  less  celebrated  for  his  libe*- 
rality  towards  learned  men  in  circumstances  of  want  and 
distress.     Mr.  Wilson,  as  soon  as  the  re-establishment  of. 
his  health  permitted,  took  the  resolution  of  paying  him  a 
visit.     Although  it  was  night  at  Mr.  Wilson's  arrival,  the, 
courtesy  of  the  cardinal,,  .then  engaged  in  study }  gave  bim 
immediate  access.     He  first  learned  from  the  stranger,  that 
bis  visit  was  occasioned,  partly  by  bis  desire  of  seeing  a 
person  not  less  illpstrious  by  his  learned  writings  than  the 
eminence  of  his  station,  and  partly  by  his  wish  to  recom-r 
mend  himself,  through  the  cardinal's  interest,  to  the  em* 
ployment  of  teaching  the  Creek  and  Latin  languages  to 
tbe  youth  of  the  city.     Mr.  Wilson's  eloquent  command  of 
the  Latin  tongue,  and  tbe  proof  which  he  soqn  gave  of 
superior  understanding  and  knowledge,  inspired  the  car-, 
dinal  with  such  prepossession  in  his  favour,  that  he  was 
unwilling  to  part  with  him,  till  he  had  learnt  tbe  particu- 
lars of  the  stranger's  country,  his  parentage,  his  education, 
and  the   different  scenes  of  life  through  which  he  bad 
passed.     Greatly  interested  by  the  narrative,  he  rose  early 
the  next  morning,  and,  demanding  a  conference  with  the 
magistrates,  consulted  them  on  Mr.  Wilson's  proposition; 
but  not*  wishing  their  decision  to  be  solely  the  result  of  his 
recommendation,  he  invited  them  on  a  certain  day  to .  an 
entertainment,  a  kind  of  symposium  at  bis  palace  ;  during 
which  he  contrived  to  engage  Mr.  Wilson,  in  disputation 
with  a  learned  physician  on  certain  points  of  Natural  Phi- 
losophy. 


WILSON.  169 

It  does  not  appear,  that  his  learning  and  accomplish- 
ments ever  procured  him  any  thing  better  from  this  period 
than  bis  laborious  though  honourable  employment  of  teach- 
ing the  ancient  languages  at  Carpentras.  It  was  perhaps 
to  reconcile  himself  to  the  mediocrity  of  his  lot,  that 
during  his  residence  in  that  city  he  composed  his  excellent 
book  "  De  Tranquillitate  Animi."  If  he  possessed  that 
contentment  and  peace  of  mind  which  made  the  subject  of 
these  contemplations,  the  first  blessing  of  life  was  bis,  and 
which  wealth  and  station  only  have  never  bestowed  on 
man. 

This  work  is  written  in  dialogue.  The  speakers  are, 
Franciscus  Michaelis,  a  patrician  of  Lucca,  Demetrius, 
Caracal  la,  and  the  author  himself.  The  first  part  of  the 
work,  and  about  one  third  of  the  whole,  is  taken  up  with 
proving,  partly  from  the  sentiments  of  the  author,  but 
chiefly  from  those  of  the  ancient  philosophers,  moralists, 
and  poets,  that  tranquillity  of  mind  is  a  practicable  acqui- 
sition, in  answer  to  the  doubts  and  objections  of  the  other 
interlocutors.  In  this  part,  and  indeed  throughout  the 
whole  work,  Mr.  Wilson  displays  a  vast  compass  of  learn- 
ing, and  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  all  the  Greek  and 
Latin  classics;  many  apt  and  beautiful  quotations  from 
them  adorn  bis  treatise;  not  to.  mention  several  little  poems 
of  his  own  composition  interspersed,  which  at  once  en- 
liven the  piece,  and  give  the  reader  a  very  advantageous 
idea  of  the  author's  poetic  genius  and  talent  for  Latin  ver- 
sification. This  work  was  first  printed  by  Gryphius,  at 
Leyden,  1543,  and  reprinted  at  Edinburgh  in  1571,  8v*. 
A  third  edition  was  printed  at  Edinburgh  in  1707,  cor- 
rected by  Rudditnan;  and  there  is  a  fourth,  1751,  with  a 
preface  by  Dr.  John  Warct. 

About  1546,  the  tenth  year  of  Mr.  Wilson's  residence 'at 
Carpentras,  after  having  taught  the  belles  lettres  with  great 
reputation,  and  established  the  character  of  a  very  learned, 
ingenious,  and  worthy  man,  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to  re- 
visit his  native  country.  But  the  doctrines  of  the  Refor- 
mation having  now  got  some  footing  in  Scotland,  Mr.  Wil- 
son was  aware  of  the  difficulties  which  he  should  have  to 
contend  with  on  his  return.  He  had  therefore  recourse  to 
.his  friend  and  patron  the  cardinal  Sadolet,  at  that  time  at 
Rome.  He  wrote  to  request  his  advice,  in  what  manner 
he  'should  conduct  himself  betwixt  religious  parties  in  his 
own  country.     We  find  the  answer  in  the  sixteenth  book 


170  WILSON. 

of  Sadolet's  Epistles,  dated  1546,  and  the  substance  of  it 
is  to  recommend  an  adherence  to  the  religion  of  his  fore* 
fathers.  From  a  Romish  cardinal  no  other  could  be  ex- 
pected, Wilson  now  determined  upon  his  journey  to 
Scotland,  but  falling  sick  at  Vienne  in  Dauphiny,  his  pro- 
gress was  suddenly  stopped.  His  disorder  increased  beyond 
the  power  of  medical  relief;  and  he  expired  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rhone  1547. 

Besides  the  work  mentioned  in  the  course  of  Mr.  Wil- 
son's life,  be  wrote  a  book  of  Latin  poems,  printed  in 
London  1619,  4to;  also  "  Commentatio  Theologica,  in 
Aphorismos  dissecta,  per  Sebast.  Gryphseum,"  1539,  8vo ; 
and  "  Philosophise  Aristotelicce  Synopsis,"  Lib.  IV. 
Whether  this  last  article  ever  appeared  in  print  is 
doubtful. ' 

WILSON  (Richard),  a  very  distinguished  artist  of  the 
last  century,  was  born  in  1714,  and  was  the  son  of  the 
rector  of  Pineges,  in  Montgomeryshire,  who  was  after- 
wards collated  to  the  living  of  Mould  in  Flintshire.  Ed- 
wards says,  that  "  his  connections  were  highly  respectable, 
being  maternally  related  to  the  late  lord  chancellor  Cam- 
den, who  was  pleased  to  acknowledge  him  as  his  cousin." 
Jlis  father  gave  him  a  good  education,  and  as  he  early  dis- 
covered a  taste  for  painting,,  sent  him  to  London,  and 
placed  him  under  the  tuition  of  one  Thomas  Wright,  a 
portrait-painter  of  very  slender  abilities.  Wilson,  there- 
fore, began  his  career  as  a  portrait-painter  but  with  a  me- 
diocrity that  afforded  no  luminous  hopes  of  excellence ; 
yet  he  must  have  acquired  some  rank  in  his  profession,  for 
we  find,  that  in  1749,  he  painted  a  large  picture  of  his 
present  majesty,  and  of  his  brother  the  late  duke  of  York, 
After  having  practised  some  years  at  London,  be  went  to 
Italy,  and  continued  the  study  of  portrait-painting,  until 
a  small  landscape  of  his,  executed  with  a  considerable 
share  of  freedom  and  spirit,  casually  meeting  the  eye  of 
Zuccarelli,  so  pleased  the  Italian,  that  he  strenuously  ad- 
vised him  to  follow  that  mode  of  painting,  as  most  conge- 
nial to  his  powers,  and  therefore  most  likely  to  obtain  for 
him  fame  as  well  as  profit. 

This  flattering  encomium  from  an  artist  of  Zuccarelli's 
knowledge  and  established  reputation,  produced  such  an 

1  Life  by  Dr.  Lctttqe.— Earop.  Mag.  1195. — Mackenzie's  Scotch  Writers, 
Vol.  111.— QhalmeiVs  Life  of  Ruddimao* 


WILSON.  171 

influence  on  Wilson,  as  to  determine  him  at  once  to  torn 
from  portrait  to  landscape,  which  be  pursued  with  vigour 
and  success.  To  this  fortunate  accident  is  owing  the  splen- 
dour diffused  by  bis  genius  over  this  country,  and  even  over 
Italy  itself,  whose  scenes  have  been  the  frequent  subjects 
of  his  pencil.  His  studies,  indeed,  in  this  branch  of  the 
art,  must  have  been  attended  with  rapid  success,  for  he 
had  some  pupils  in  landscape  while  at  Rome,  and  his  works 
were  so  much  esteemed  that  Mengs  paintefl  his  portrait,  for 
which  Wilson,  in  return,  painted  a  landscape. 

It  is  not  known  at  what  tijne  he  returned  to  England,  but 
he  was  ia  London  in  1758,  and  resided  over  the  north 
arcade  of  the  piazza,  Covent-garden,  at  which  time  he  had 
gained  great  celebrity  as  a  landscape-painter.  To  the  first 
exhibition  of  1760,  he  sent  his  picture  of  Niobe,  which  is 
now  ip  the  possession  of  his  royal  highness  the  duke  of 
Gloucester.  ,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  in  his  last  lecture  but 
one,  has  offered  some  strictures  on  the  figures  intro- 
duced in  this  celebrated  picture,  in  which  Mr.  Fuseli 
$eema  to  agree,  but  which  Edwards  labours  to  oppose ;  and 
even  to  trace  sir  Joshua's  opinion  to  private  pique.  In 
1765,  Wilson  exhibited,  with  other  pictures,  a  view  of 
Rome,  from  the  villa  Madama,  a  capital  performance, 
which  was  purchased  by  the  late  marquis  of  Tavistock, 
and  is  probably  in  the  collection  of  the  duke  of  Bedford. 
When  the  Royal  Academy  was  instituted,  he  was  chosen  one 
pf  the  founders,  and,  after  the  death  of  Hayman,  was 
made  librarian ;  an  office  which  his  necessities  rendered 
desirable,  and  which  he  retained  until  his  decayed  health 
compelled  him  to  retire  to  his  brother's  in  Wales,  where 
he  died  in  May  1782.  Mr.  Opie  says,  in  his  "  Lectures," 
that  Wilson,  though  second  to  no  name  of  any  school  or 
country  in  classical  and  heroic  landscape,  succeeded  with 
difficulty,  by  pawning  some  of  his  works  at  the  age  of 
seventy  (sixty-seven  or  sixty-eight),  in  procuring  ten  gui-* 
neas  to  carry  him  to  die  in  unhonoured  and  unnoticed  ob- 
scurity in  Wales.' *  Edwards  informs  us,  that  "  though  he 
had  acquired  great  fame,  yet  he  did  not  find  that  constant 
employment  which  his  abilities  deserved.     This  neglect 

'  might  ptt&ably  result  from  his  own  conduct ;  for  it  must 
be  coriWbli  that  Mr.  Wilson  was  not  very  prudendaUy 
attentive  toHiis  interest ;  and  though  a  man  of  strong  sense, 

%  and  superior  education  to  most  of  the  artists  of  his  time, 
he  certainly  did  not  possess  that  suavity  of  manners  whicfy 


172  W  I  L  S  O  N. 

i 

distinguished  many  of  bis  contemporaries.  On  this  ac- 
count, his  connexions  and  employment  insensibly  4imij> 
nished,  and  left  him,  in  the  latter  part  of  bis  life,  in  com- 
fortless infirmity."  This  appears  to  us  but  a  sorry  excuse 
for  the  neglect  Wilson  met  with  ;  for  what  has  patronage 
to  do  with  the  temper  of  an  artist  ?  Wilson's  taste  was  s# 
exquisite,  says  Fuseli,  and  his  eye  so  chaste,  that  what- 
ever came  from  his  easel  bore  the  stamp  of  elegance  and 
truth.  The  subjects  he  chose  were  such  as  did  credit  to 
his  judgment.  They  were  the  selections  of  taste ;  and  whe- 
ther of  the  simple,  the  elegant,  or  the  sublime,  they  were 
treated  with  an  equal  felicity.  Indeed,  he  possessed  that 
versatility  of  power,  as  to  be  one  minute  an  eagle  sweeping 
the  heavens,  and  the  next,  a  wren  twittering  a  simple  note 
on  the  humble  thorn.  His  colouring  was  in  general  vivid 
and  natural ;  his  touch,  spirited  and  free ;  his  composi- 
tion, simple  and  elegant;  his  lights  and  shadows,  broad 
and  well  distributed ;  his  middle  tints  in  perfect  harmony, 
while  his  forms  in  general  produced  a  pleasing  impression. 
Wilson  has  been  called  the  English  Claude;  a  comparison 
which  Mr.  Fuseli  cannot  admit,  from  the  total  dissimilarity 
of  their  style.  "  Claude,"  he  adds,  "  little  above  medi- 
ocrity in  all  other  branches  of  landscape-painting,  had 
one  great  prerogative,  sublimity  ;  but  his  powers  rose  and 
set  with  the  sun,  be  could  only  be  serenely  sublime  or  roman- 
tic. Wilson,  without  so  great  a  feature,  had  a  more  varied  and 
more  proportionate  power :  he  observed  nature  in  all  her 
appearances,  and  had  a  characteristic  touch  for  all  her 
forms.  But  though  in  effects  of  dewy  freshness  and  silent 
evening  lights  few  equalled,  and  fewer  excelled  him,  his 
grandeur  is  oftener  allied  to  terror,  bustle,  and  convulsion, 
than  to  calmness  ancl  tranquillity.  Figures,  it  is  difficult 
to  say,  which  of  the  two  introduced  or  handled  with  greater 
infelicity :  treated  by  Claude  or  Wilson,  St.  Ursula  with 
her  Virgins,  and  iEneas  Landing,  Niobe  with  her  family, 
or  Ceyx  drawn  on  the  shore,  have  an  equal  claim  to  our  in- 
difference or  mirth."  ' 

WILSON  (Thomas),  a.  statesman  and  divine  in  the 
reign  of  queen  Elizabeth,  celebrated  for  the  politeness  of 
bis  style  and  the  extent  of  his  knowledge,  was  the  son  of 
Thomas  Wilson  of  Stroby  in  Lincolnshire,  by  Anne  daugh- 
ter and  beir  of  Roger  Comberwortb,  of  Comberworth  in 

)  Edwardt's  Anecdotes  of  Painters.— Pilkington  by  Foscli. 


WILSON.  173 

the  srfme  county.    He  was  educated  at  Eton,  and  at  King'^» 
tfollege,  Cambridge ;  and  went  thence  into  the  family  6f 
Charles  Brandon,  duke  of  Suffolk,  who  intrusted  him  with  the 
eduoation  of  his  two  sons.     During  the  reign  of  Mary,  to 
whose  persecution  many  fugitives  owed  their  qualifications 
for  future  honours,  he  lived  abroad,  received  the  degree  of 
doctor  of  laws  at  Ferrara,  and  was  for  some  time  imprisoned 
by  the  inquisition  at  Rome,  on  account  of  his  two  treatises 
on  rhetoric  and  logic,  which  he  had  published  in  England, 
and  in  the  English  language,  several  years  before.     He  is 
said  to  have  suffered  the  torture,  and  \yould  have  been  put 
to  death,  on  refusing  to  deny  his  faith,  had  not  a  fire  hap- 
pened, which  induced  the  populace  to  force  open  the  pri- 
son, that  those  confined  there  might  not  perish,  by  which 
means  be  escaped ;  and,  returning  to  England,  after  queen 
Mary's  death,  was  appointed  one  of  the  masters  of  requests, 
and  master  of  St.  Katherine's  hospital  near  the  Tower. 
This  was  in  the  third  year  of  queen  Elizabeth,  at  which 
time  he  was  her  majesty's  secretary ;  but  finding  his  patent 
for  the  mastership  of  St.  Katherine's  void,  because  he  was 
not  a  priest,   according  to  queen  Philippa's  charter,    be 
surrendered  the  office,  and  bad  a  new  patent,  with  a  nan 
obstante,  Dec.  7,    1563.     According  to  Dr.  Ducarel,  his 
conduct  in  this  office  was  somewhat  objectionable,  as  he 
sold  to  the  city  of  London  the  fair  of  St.  Katherine's,  for 
the  sum  of  700  marks,  surrendered  the  charter  of  Henry 
VI.  and  took  a  new  one  8.  Elizabeth,  leaving  out  the  li- 
berty of  the  aforesaid  fair;  and  did  many  other  things  very 
prejudicial  to  his  successors.     In  1561  he  bad  been  admit* 
ted  a  civilian;  and  in  1576  he  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to 
the  Low  Countries,  where  he  acquitted  himself  so  well,  that 
in  the  following  year  be  was  named  to  succeed  sir  Thomas 
Smith   as   secretary  of   state;   and   in   1579   obtained    a 
deanery  of  Durham.     He  died  in  1581,  and  was  buried  in 
St,  Katherine's  church.     He  was  endowed  with  an  uncom- 
mon strength  of  memory,  which  enabled  him  to  act  with 
remarkable  dispatch  in  bis  negociatious.     Yet  he  was  more 
distinguished  as  a  scholar  than  as  a  minister,  and  was  per- 
haps unfortunate  in  having  served  jointly  with  the  illus- 
trious Walsingham,  whose  admirable  conduct  in  his  office 
admitted  of  no  competition.     Sir  Thomas  Wilson  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  sir  William  Winter,  of  Lidney  in  Glou- 
cestershire, and  left  three  children  :  Nicholas,  who  settled 
at  Sheep  wash  in  Lincolnshire ;  M^ry,  married,  first,  to  Ro- 


174  W  1  L  $  O  Ni 

bert  Burdett,  of  Bramcote  in  Warwickshire,  secondly  td 
sir  Christopher  Lowther,  of  Lowther  in  Westmoreland  5 
and  Lucretia,  wife  of  George  Belgrave,  of  Belgrave  in 
Leicestershire. 

Sir  Thomas  Wilson  wrote,  1."  Epistola  de  vita  et  obiiti 
duorum  fratrum  Suffolciensium,  HenricietCafoli  Brandon," 
Lend.  1552,  4to,  prefixed" to  a  collection  of  verses  written 
on  their  deaths  by  several  scholars  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge. Of  this  rare  book  there  are  only  three  copies 
known,  one  in  the  Bodleian,  another  in  the  British  nra* 
seum,  and  a  third  in  the  magnificent  library  of  earl  Spencer. 
2.  "  The  rule  of  Reason,  containing  the  art  of  Logic,"  1 55  f  ^ 
1552,  1553,  1567,  4to.  3.  "  The  art  of  Rhetoric,"  1553, 
4to,  often  reprinted.  4.  **  Discourse  upon  Usury,"  Lorid. 
1572,  a  work  much  praised  by  Dr.  Lawrence  Humphrey* 
the  queen's  professor  of  divinity  at  Oxford,  in  his  life  of 
Jewell.  Wilson  also  translated  from  Greek  into  English, 
"  The  three  Orations  of  Demosthenes,  chief  orator  among 
the  Grecians,"  Lond.  1570.  Of  his  "Art  of  Logic,"  Mr. 
Warton  says  that  such  a  "  display  of  the  venerable  mys* 
teries  of  this  art  in  a  vernacular  language,  which  had 
hitherto  been  confined  within  the  sacred  pale  of  the  learned 
tongues,  was  esteemed  an  innovation  almost  equally  da* 
ring  with  that  of  permitting  the  service  of  the  church  to  be 
^celebrated  in  English  ;  and  accordingly  the  author,  soon 
afterwards  happening  to  visit  Rome,  was  incarcerated  by 
the  inquisitors  of  the  holy  see,  as  a  presumptuous  and 
dangerous  heretic."  Of  his  "Art  of  Rhetoric,"  Mr.  War- 
ton  says,  it  is  liberal  and  discursive,  illustrating  the  arts  of 
eloquencg-'by  example,  and  examining  and  ascertaining 
the  beauties  of  composition  with  the  speculative  skill  ana 
sagacity  of  a  critic.  It  may  therefore  be  justly  considered 
as  the  first  book  or  system  of  criticism  in  our  language* 
This  opinion  Mr.  Warton  confirms  by  very  copious  ex* 
tracts.  * 

WILSON  (Thomas)  a  puritan  divine,  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  was  minister  of  St.  George's  church,  in  Canter- 
bury, one  of  the  six  preachers  hi  that  city,  chaplain  to  lord 
\  Wotton,  and  a  man  of  high  reputation.  We  have,  how- 
ever, no  particulars  of  his  early  life.  He  preached  at  Can- 
terbury thirty-six  years,  and  was  assiduous  and  indefatU 

1  Tanner. — Ath.  Ox.  vol.  II.  new  edit — Strype's  Annals. — Lodge's  III  titra- 
tions, vol.  II. — WartonVHist.  of  Poetry.— 'Hutchinson's  Hist,  of  Durham,  vol. 
II.  p.  152.<r"Dttearel,8  Hist  of  St.  Katherine's, 


WILSON.  175 

gable  in  all  the  duties  of  his  sacred  office.  He  died  in 
Jaa.  1621,  on  the  25th  of  which  raopth  his  funeral  ser- 
mon, wbjch  has  been  printed,  was  preached  by  William 
Swift,  minister  of  St.  Andrew's,  at  Canterbury,  and  great 
grandfather  of  dean  Swift.  His  works  are,  1,  "  A  Com- 
mentary on  the  Romans,9'  1614,  a  work  much  approved* 
2.  "  Christ's  farewell  to  Jerusalem,"  1614.  3.  "  Theolo- 
gical Rules,"  1615.  4.  "  A  complete  Christian  Dictionary," 
fol.  of  which  the  sixfh  edition,  with  a  continuation  by  Bag- 
well and  Symson,  was  published  in  1655.  This  was  one 
of  the  first  attempts,  in  English,  towards  a  concordance  of 
the  Bible.  Mr.  Wilson  wrote  some  other  pieces  of  less 
note. * 

>  WILSON  (Thomas),  the  pious  and  venerable  bishop 
of  Sodojr  and  Man,  was  born  atJBurton,  a  village  in  the 
hundred  of  Wirrel,  in  the  county  Palatine  of  Chester,  ia 
1663.  He  was  educated  in  the  city  of  Chester  until  quali- 
fied for  the  university,  when  he  was  entered  of  Trinity 
college,  Dublin.  During  his  residence  there  he  made 
great  proficiency  in  academical  studies,  and  had  at  first  an 
intention  of  devoting  himself  to  that  of  physic  as  a  profes- 
sion, but  he  was  soon  persuaded  by  a  dignitary  of  the 
church  to  turn  his  thoughts  to  divinity.  He  continued  at 
college  till  1686,  when  he  was  ordained  a  deacon  by  the 
bishop  of  Kildare,  soon  after  which  he  left  Ireland,  partly 
owing  to  the  confusions  which  prevailed  .under  the  un- 
happy reign  of  king  Japnes  II. ;  and  in  the  latter  end  of  the 
same  year,  became  curate  of  New  Church,  in  the  parish 
of  Winwick,  in  Lancashire,  of  which  his  maternal  uncle, 
Dr.  Sherlock,  was  then  rector,  and  here  he  first  displayed 
his  affectionate  and  conscientious  regard  for  the  poor,  by 
setting  apart  a  tenth  of  his  income  (which  was  only  30/,  a 
year)  to  charitable  purposes. 

In  1689  he  entered  into  priest's  orders,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  his  excellent  character  recommended  him  to 
the  notice  of  the. earl  of  Derby,  who,  in  1692,  appointed 
him  his  domestic  chaplain,  and  preceptor  to  his  son,  lord 
Strange,  with  a  salary  of  30/.  and  he  being  appointed  about 
the  same  time  master  of  the  alms-house  at  Latham,  worth 
20/.  a  year  more,  he  set  apart  a  fifth  part  of  the  whole  for 
pious  uses.  In  this  situation  he  remained  till  1697,  when, 
to  use  his  own  words,  "  he  was  forced  into  the  bishopric  of 

1  Brook's  Lives  of  the  Puritans.— Granger. 


176  W  1  L  8  0  K. 

*  * 

the  Isle  of  Man/'  a  promotion  for  which  he  was  in  all  re~~ 
spects  eminently  qualified.  fteing  first  created  doctor  erf 
laws  by  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  he  was  confirmed 
bishop  of  Man  at  Bow  church,  Jan.  15,  1697-8,  and  next 
,  day  was  consecrated  at  the  Savoy  church,  by  Dr.  Sharp, 
archbishop  of  York. 

In  the  beginning  of  April  following  he  landed  in  thelshb 
of  Man,  and  was  enthroned  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Ger- 
main's in  Peel  Castle.  His  palace  be  found  almost  a  ruin. 
It  had  not  been  inhabited  for  eight  years,  and  nothing  but 
an  ancient  tower  and  chapel  remained  entire.  He  was, 
therefore,  obliged  to  rebuild  it,  and  the  expence,  which 
amounted  to  1400/.  interrupted,  in  some  measure,  his  cha- 
rity to  the  poor,  but  this  he  soon  resumed,  and  his  bene- 
ficence ever  afterwards  increased  with  his  income.  About 
this  time  the  earl  of  Derby  offered  him  the  valuable  living 
of  Baddesworth,  in  Yorkshire,  to  hold  in  commendum,  pro- 
bably as  a  compensation  for  the  expences  he  had  been  at ; 
bat  he  declined  the  offer,  as  being  incompatible  with  his 
resolution  never  to  take  two  ecclesiastical  preferments  with 
cure  of  souls,  especially  when  he  must  necessarily  be  ab- 
sent from  one.of  them. 

In  l€99  bishop  Wilson  published  a  small  tract  in  Manks 
and  English,  the  first  work  ever  printed  in  the  former 
language,  entitled  "  The  Principles  and  Duties  of  Chris- 
tianity, for  the  use  of  the  island/'  where  a  great  degree  of 
ignorance  prevailed,  and  wjbere  it  was  necessary  to  diffuse 
elementary  treatises  written  in  the  plainest  manner,  which 
is  the  characteristic  of  most  of  our  prelate's  writings,  and 
predominated  also  in  his  sermons.  By  the  advice,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Bray,  be  likewise  began  to 
found  parochial  libraries  throughout  his  diocese,  giving  to 
each  a  proper  book-case,  and  furnishing  them  with  Bibles 
and  such  other  books  as  were  calculated  to  instruct  the 
people  in  the  great  truths  and  duties  of  religion.  In  the 
beginning  of  1707  the  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  Aboot 
this  time  also  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  society  for 
promoting  Christian  knowledge,  and  in  the  same  year  he 
had  the  church  catechism  printed  in  Manks  and  English, 
for  the  use  of  the  schools  which  he  had  established  itr  va- 
rious parts  of  his  diocese,  and  which  he  superintended  with 
the  greatest  care.  Indeed  he  applied  himself  with  singular 
diligence  to  all  the  duties  of  his  sacred  function,  and  also 


WILSON.  177 

endeavoured,  both  by  bis  exhortations  and  example,  to 
animate  the  clergy  of  the  island  to  a  regular  and  faithful 
discharge  of  their  pastoral  office.  With  this  view  they 
were  occasionally  assembled  in  convocation  at  Bishop's 
court  (the  name  of  t(ie  episcopal  palace),  where  our  prelate 
delivered  such  charges  as  circumstances  required,  earnestly 
pressing  them  at  all  times  to  attend  to  the  care  of  their 
flocks,  and  to  endeavour,  by  all  possible  methods,  to  plant 
the  fear  of  God  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  One  of  his 
leading  objects  was  to  maintain  and  preserve,  in  their  full 
force,  those  ecclesiastical  constitutions  which  he  had 
established  in  1703,  and  by  which  he  hoped  to  revive  in 
60 me  measure  the  primitive  discipline  of  the  church.  The 
lord  chancellor  King  was  so  much  pleased  with  these  con* 
stitutions  as  to  declare,  that  "  if  the  ancient  discipline  of 
the  church  were  lost,  it  might  be  found  in  all  its  purity  in 
the  Isle  of  Man." 

From  this  time  our  prelate  continued  to  perform  all  the 
offices  of  a  good  bishop  and  a. good  man  ;  and  we  hear 
little  mope  of  him  till  1721  and  1722,  when  the  orthodoxy 
of  his  spirit,  and  zeal  for  church-discipline,  seem  to  have 
involved  him  in.  altercations  and  difficulties.  When  the 
famous  work  called"  The  Independent  Whig,"  came  into 
tfce  diocese  of  Man,  the  bishop  immediately  issued  an  act 
against  it,  dated  Jan.  27,  1721,  declaring  its  purpose  to  be 
subversive  of  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  government,  of 
the  church,  as  well  as  undermining  the  Christian  religion. 
But  bis  zeal  against  it  did  not  atop  here,  for  he  took  it 
upon,  him  to  seize  it  wherever,  he  found  it :  and  accord- 
ingly, when  Mr.  Worth ington  sent  it  as  a  present  to  the 
public  library  of  the  island,  the  bishop  commanded  one 
Stevenson  to  take  and  keep  it ;  so  that  it  should  neither  be 
deposited  in  the  library,  nor  yet  restored  to, the  right 
owner.  Complaint  was  made  to  the  governor  of  the  island, 
who  committed  Stevenson  to  prison  till  he  should  make 
reparation.  The  bishop  remonstrated',  and  the  governor 
replied,  in  which  reply  he  charged  the  bishop,  who  had 
pleaded  obedience  to  the  king's  commands  in  his  attempts 
to.  suppress  irreljgioh,  with  having  neglected  to  use  the 
prayers  composed  in  the.  time  of  the  rebellion  in  1715^ 
which  was  also  an  equal  object  of  obedience.  The  issue 
of  this  affair  was,  that  the  book  was  restored,  and  Steven* 
ipn  set  at  liberty. 
,    But  there  happened  another  dispute  between  the  bishop 

Vol.  XXXII.  N 


17S  v  W  I  L  S  O  N. 

and  the  governor,  which,  so  far  as  the  bishop  was  personally 
concerned,  was  much  more  serious ;  and  it  is  related  thus : 
Mrs.  Home,  the  governor's  wife,  had  defamed  Mrs.  Puller 
and  sir  Jam^s  Pool  with  a  false  charge  of  criminal  conver- 
sation ;  and,  in  consequence  of  being  contumacious,  and 
refusing  to  ask  pardon  of  the  persons  injured,  was  by  the 
bishop  interdicted  from  the  holy  communion.  But  Mr. 
Horribin,  his  archdeacon,  who  was  chaplain  to  captain 
Home,  received  Mrs.  Home  to  the  communion,  and  was 
suspended  by  the  bishop.  Upon  this,  the  governor,  con- 
ceiving that  the  bishop  had  acted  illegally,  fined  him  50/. 
and  his  two  vicars-general  20/.  each  ;  and,  on  their  refusing 
to  pay  this  fine,  committed  them  all,  June  29,  1722,  to 
Castle  Rushin,  a  damp  and.  gloomy  prison,  where  they 
were  closely  confined,  and  no  persons  were  admitted  within 
the  walls  to  see  or  converse  with  them,  and  where  Dr. 
Wilson  was  treated  with  a  rigour  which  no  protestant  bishop 
had  experienced  since  the  reformation. 

The  concern  of  the  people  was  so  great  when  they  heard 
of  this  tyrannical  treatment  of  their  beloved  pastor  and 
friend,  that  they  assembled  in  crowds,  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  they  were  restrained  from  proceeding  to  violence 
and  outrage  against  the  governor,  by  the  bishop  himself* 
who,  being  permitted  to  speak  to  them  through  a  grated 
window,  exhorted  them  to  peace,  and  told  them  that  he 
intended  to  appeal  to  the  king,  and  did  not  doubt  bat  hit 
majesty  would  vindicate  his  cause.  He  also  sent  a  circular 
letter  to  his  clergy,  drawn  up  in  such  terms  as  seemed 
most  proper  for  appeasing  the  people,  and  desired  it  might 
be  generally  communicated  throughout  the  island.  After 
some  delays,  owing  to  the  technical  formalities  of  law,  the 
bishop's  appeal  was  heard  before  the  lords  justices  in  coun- 
cil, July  18,  1723,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  governor 
were  reversed,  as  extrajudicial  and  irregular,  and  the  fines 
were  ordered  to  be  restored  to  the  bishop  and  his  vicars* 
general.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and  upon  the  bishop's 
application  for  costs,  the  king,  by  the  president  of  the 
council,  and  sir  Robert  Walpole,  promised  that  be  would 
see  him  satisfied.  Iri  consequence  of  this  engagement, 
the  king,  some  time  after,  offered  him  the  bishopric  of 
Exeter,  then  vacant,  to  reimburse  him,  but  our  unambi- 
tious prelate  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  quit  his  own 
diocese ;  upon  which  his  majesty  promised  to  defray  his 
sxpences  out  of  the  privy  puree,  and  gave  it  in  charge  to 


WILSON.  179 

lord  T«>wnsend,  lord  Carleton,  and  sir  Robert  Walpole,  to 
remind  him  of  it ;  but  the  king  going  soon  afterwards  to 
Hanover,  and'  dying  before  his  return,  this  promise  was 
never  fulfilled.  The  only  recompense  he  had  was  by  a 
subscription  set  on  foot  by  the  archbishop  of  York,  amount- 
ing to  300/.  not  a  sixth  part  of  the  expences  of  his  appli- 
cation.to  the  crown.  To  add  to  the  indignation  which  we 
are  confident  every  reader  will  feel,  it  may  be  mentioned, 
that  from  the  dampness  of  the  prison  in  which  the  bishop 
was  confined  by  the  brutal  governor,  he  contracted  a  dis- 
order in  his  right  hand,  which  disabled  ,him  from  the  free 
use  ot  his  ringers,  and  he  ever  after  wrote  with  his  whole 
hand  grasping  the  pen.  He  wa"s  advised  to  prosecute  the 
governor,  &c.  in  the  English  courts  of  law,  to  recover 
damages ;  but  to  this  he  could  not  be  persuaded,  and  ex- 
tended his  forgiveness  to  tbose  who  had  ill-used  him,  in 
the  most  sincere  and  liberal  manner. 

After  this  absence  from  his' diocese  of  eighteen  mouths, 
which  he  had  spent  mostly  in  London,  where  he  was  .be- 
loved and  admired  to  a  degree  of  enthusiasm  by  all  clashes 
of  f>eople,  he  returned  to  the  island,  and  resumed  his  ex- 
enfplary  course.  In  1735  he  came  to  England  for  the  last 
time,  to  visit  his  son,  the  subject  of  the  following  article; 
and  being  introduced  at  the  court  of  George  II.  he  was 
much  noticed  by  their  majesties,  and  particularly  by  queen 
Caroline,  who  was  very  desirous  of  keeping  him  in  Eng- 
land, but  he  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  quit  his  poor 
diocese,  the  value  of  which  did  not  exceed  300/.  a  year. 
On  his  return  he  visited  the  province  of  York  at  the  request 
of  archbishop  Blackburn,  and  confirmed  upwards  of  fifteen 
thousand  persons. 

,  In  1739  the  clergy  of  the  Isle  of  Man  were  much  alarmed 
by  the  death  of  the  earl  of  Derby,  who  dying  without  issue, 
the  lordship  of  Man,  as  a  barony^in  Fee,  became  the  pro* 
perty  of  the  duke  of  Athol,  who  had  married  the  heiress  of 
a  late  earf  of  Derby.  This  threatened  to  deprive  the 
clergy  of  their  subsistence,  for  the  livings  df'the  Isle  of 
Man  consist  of  a  third  of  the  impropriations,  which  had 
been  originally  purchased  of  a  former  earl  of  Derby  by 
bishop  Barrow,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II. ;  but  now  the 
duke  of  Athol  claimed  the  impropriations  as  an  inseparable 
appendage  of  his  estate  and  royalty.  The  clergy  were 
now  in  danger  of  losing  all  their  property,  for  the  deeds 
of  conveyance  from  the  earl  of  Derby  to  bishop  Barrow 

N  2 


ISO  WILSON. 

were  lost  from  the  records  of  the  island,  and  the :  affair 
became  every  year  more  difficult,  until  at  length,  by  the 
care  and  diligence  of  the  bishop  and  his  son,  the  deeds 
were  discovered  in  the  Rolls  chapel,  where  they  had  been 
deposited  for  safe  custody.  This  discovery  put  an  end  to 
the  dispute,  and  in  1745  the  deeds  were  exemplified  under 
the  great  seal  of  England,  and  every  precaution  taken  for 
the  future  payment  of  the  money. 

In  his  latter  days  bishop  Wilson  formed  a  plan  for  trans- 
lating the  New  Testament  into  the  Manks  language,  but 
did  not  live  to  make  a  further  progress  tban  to  translate 
the  four  gospels,  and  print  that  of  St.  Matthew.  This  im- 
portant work  was  completed  by  his  successor  (See  Hildjes- 
X£Y).  This  seems  to  have  been  the  last  concern  of  a  pub- 
lic nature  in  which  he  was  engaged,  beyond  the  immediate 
duties  of  his  bishopric,  which  he  continued  to  execute  to 
the  latest  period  of  his  life,  notwithstanding  the  infirmities 
naturally  attending  bis  great  age.  He  had  attained  his 
ninety-third  year,  when,  in  consequence  of  a  cold  caught 
by  walking  in  his  garden  in  very  cold  weather,  after  read- 
ing evening  prayers  in  his  own  chapel,  he  was  confined 
for  a  short  time  to  his  bed,  and  expired  March  7,  1755. 
He  was  interred  in  the.  church-yard  of  Kirk-Michael, 
almost  the  wbole  population  of  the  island  attending  the 
funeral,  and  lamenting  their  loss. 

Bishop  Wilson's  life  was  an  uniform  display  of  the  most- 
genuine  and  active  benevolence.  Considering  himself  as 
the  steward,  not  the  proprietor,  of  the  revenues  of  the 
bishopric,  he  devoted  his  income  to  what  he  esteemed  its. 
proper  use.  The  annual  receipts  of  the  bishopric,  as  we 
have  just  mentioned,  did  not  exceed  300/.  in  money;  some 
necessaries  in  his  house  were  of  course  to  be  paid  for  in 
money;  distressed  or  shipwrecked  mariners,  and  some  other 
poor  objects,  it  was  also  requisite  to  relieve  with  money ; 
bpt  the  poor  of  the.  island  were  fed  and  clothed,  and  this 
bouse  in  general  supplied  from  his  demesnes  by  exchange, 
without  money.  The  poor  who  could  spin  or  weave,  found 
the  best  market  at  Bishop's-cou'rt,  where  they  bartered  the 
produce  of  their  labour  for  corn;  Taylors  and  shoemakers 
were  kept  in  the  house  constantly  employed,  to  make  into 
garments  or  shoes  that  cloth  or  leather  which  his  corn  had 
purchased;  and  the  aged  and  the  infirm  were  supplied 
according,  to  their  several  wants.  At  the  same  time  he 
fcept  aa  open  hospitable  table,  covered  with  the  produce  of 


\ 


WILSON.  181 

his  own  demesnes,  at  which  he  presided  with  equal  affabi- 
lity and  decorum.  His  manners,  though  always  consistently 
adorned  with  Christian  gravity,  were  ever  gentle  and  po- 
lite ;  and  in  his  conversation  he  was  one  of  the  most  enter* 
taining  and  agreeable,  as  well  as  instructive  of  men.  With 
these  qualities  of  the  gentleman,  the  bishop  united  the  ac- 
complishments and  virtues  of  the  scholar  and  the  divine. 
He  was  well  skilled  in  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin 
languages ;  and  there  was  hardly  any  part  of  science  that 
could  be  serviceable  in  his  diocese  which  he  did  not  un- 
derstand. In  his  younger  days  he  had  a  poetical  turn,  but 
afterwards  laid  aside  such  amusements,  as  thinking  them 
inconsistent  with  his  episcopal  character.  During  the  fifty- 
eight  years  that  he  held  the  bishopric,  he  never  failed, 
unless  on  occasions  of  sickness,  to  expound  the  scripture, 
to  preach,  or  to  administer  the  sacrament,  every  Sunday, 
at  one  or  other  of  the  churches  in  his  diocese,  and,  if 
absent  from  the  island,  he  always  preached  at  the  church 
where  he  resided  for  the  day.  He  alternately  visited  the 
different  parishes  of  his  diocese  on  Sundays  (which  the 
dimensions  of  the  island  will  permit  in  a,  carriage)  without 
giving  them  notice,  and,  after  doing  the  duty  of  the  day, 
returned  home  to  dinner.  His  family  prayers  were  as  re- 
gular as  his  public  duties.  Every  summer  morning  at  six, 
and  every  winter  morning  at  seven  o'clock,  his.  whole 
household  attended  him  in  his  chapel,  where  he  himself, 
or  one  of  those  divinity-students  whom  he  maintained  in 
his  house,  performed  the  service  of  the  day ;  and  in  the 
evening  they  did  the  same.  Thus  it  was  that  he  formed 
his  young  clergy  for -the  pulpit,  and  for  a  graceful  delivery. 
He  was  so  great  a  friend  to  toleration,  that  the  papists  who 
resided  in  the  island,  loved  and  esteemed  him,  and  not 
unfrequently  attended  his  ministrations.  Dissenters  like* 
wise  even  attended  the  communion-service,  as  he  admitted 
them  to  receive  the  sacrament,  either  standing  or  sitting, 
at  their  own  option,  so  that  there  was  neither  schism  nor 
separate  congregation  in  his  diocese.  The  few  quakers 
.also,  who  were  resident  on  the  island,  visited  and  respected 
him.  Many  other  amiable,  and  some  singular  traits  of  the 
character  of  this  excellent  prelate  may  be  seen  in  the 
work  from  which  the  above  particulars  are  taken. 

His  works,  consisting  of  religious  tracts,  most  of  which 
have  been  repeatedly  printed  separately,  and  extensively 
circulated,  and  of  serm6ns,  were  collected  by  his  son  amj 


182  WILSON. 

m 

published  in  1780,  2  vols.  4to,  and  reprinted  in  2  handsome 
volumes,  folio,  by  the  editor,  the  late  Rev.  Clement  Crutt- 
well,  who  also  edited,  a  few  years  after,  a  splendid  edition 
of  the  Bible  in  3  vols.  4to,  with  notes  by  bishop  Wilson.1 

WILSON  (Thomas),  D.  D.  only  surviving  son  of  the 
preceding,  was  born  Aug.  24, 1703,  in  the  parish  of  Kirk- 
Michael,  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  after  such  an  institution 
there  as  he  must  have  received  under  the  eve  of  so  ex- 
cellent  a  father,  was  entered  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford, 
where  he  took  the  degree  of  M.  A.  Dec.  16,  1727.  On 
the  10th  of  May,  1739,  having  previously  become  pos- 
sessed of  bis  mother's  jointure,  which  devolved  to  hijn  on 
ber  decease,  he  accumulated  the  degrees  of  B.  and  D.  D. 
May  10,  1739,  when  he  went  out  grand  compounder.  He 
was  many  years  senior  prebendary  of  Westminster,  and 
minister  of  St.  Margaret's  there;  and  rector  of  St.  Ste- 
phen's, Walbrook,  forty-six  years ;  in  which  last  he  suc- 
ceeded Dr.  Watson,  on  the  presentation  of  lord-chancel- 
lor Hardwicke.  In  1761  was  published  a  pamphlet  en- 
titled "  The  Ornaments  of  Churches  considered ;.  with  a 
particular  view  to  the  late  decoration  of  the  parish  church 
of  St.  Margaret,  Westminster.  To  which  is  subjoined  an 
appendix,  containing  the  history  of  the  said  church,  an 
account  of  the  altar-piece  and  stained  glass  window  erected 
over  it,  a  state  of  the  ptosecution.it  has  occasioned,  and 
other  papers,"  4to.  To  the  second  edition  of  this  pamph- 
let was  prefixed  a  view  of  the  inside  of  St  Margaret's 
ehurch,  with  the  late  excellent  speaker,  Arthur  Onslow, 
in  bis  seat.  This  pamphlet  has  been  by  some  ascribed  to 
a  son  of  Dr.  Shebbeare,  as  published  under  Dr.  Wilson's 
inspection.  The  reason  for  such  conjecture  is  not  given, 
and  the  fact  is  therefore  doubtful.  We  know  of  no  son  of 
Dr.  Shebbeare's,  and  at  this  time  Dr.  Shebbeare  himself 
was  a  well-known  writer,  and  sufficiently  practised  in  de- 
ceptions, had  any  been  necessary.  Another  report  is  that 
the  work  was  chiefly  the  composition  of  the  late  archdea- 
con Hole ;  Dr.  Wilson  having  borrowed  a  MS  treatise  on 
the  subject  written  by  the  archdeacon,  and  then  printed 
almost  the  whole  of  it,  inserting  here  and  there  a  few 
notes,  &c.  of  his  own.  This  assertion  is  made  by  an 
anonymous  writer  in  the  Gent.  Mag.  for  1786,  but  who  the 
late  archdeacon  Hole  was,  we  have  not  been  able  to  dia- 

'  ^Life  prefixed  to  his  work* 


WILSON.  m 

jcover ;  Mr.  William  Hole,  archdeacon  of  Sarum,  *as  then 
alive,  and  died  in  1791.  Another  pamphlet  ascribed  to 
Dr.  Wilson  was,  "  A  review  of  the  project  for  building  a 
new  square  at  Westminster,  said  to  be  for  the  use  of  West- 
minster-school. By  a  Sufferer.  Part  I.M  1757,  8vo.  The 
injury  here  complained  of  was  the  supposed  undervaluation 
■of  the  doctor's  prebendal  house,  which  was  to  have  made 
way  for  the  project  alluded  to.  He  was  also  the  supposed 
author  of  a  pamphlet  entitled  u  Distilled  Liquors  the  bane 
of  the  nation ;"  which  recommended  him  to  sir  Joseph 
Jekyll,  'then  master  of  the  rolls,  who  interested  himself  in 
procuring  him  his  rectory.  Even  concerning  this  a  doubt 
has  been  suggested,  as  Dr.  Hales  printed  a  pamphlet  with 
exactly  the  same  title.  That  elaborate  and  excellent  work 
of  Dr.  Leland's,  entitled  "  A  view  of  the  principal  Deisti- 
cal  Writers,"  was  originally  addressed  in  a  series  of  letters, 
in  the  form  they  now  appear,  to  Dr.  Wilson,  who  finding 
that  the  booksellers  would  not  give  the  author  any  adequate 
remuneration  (50/.  only  were  offered)  printed  the  first 
edition  at  his  own  risk. 

Dr.  Wilson  died  at  Alfred  House,  Bath,  April  15,  1784, 
in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age,  and  on  the  27th  was  in- 
terred, with  great  funeral  pomp,  in  Walbrook  *  church ; 
where  he  had  in  his  life-time  put  up  a  tablet  undated.  His 
tenacity  in  the  cause  he  espoused  was  no  less  conspicuous 
in  his  opposition  to  the  building  of  the  intended  square  in 
Westminster,  than  in.  his  attachment  to  the  noted  Mrs. 
Macaulay,  to  whom,'  when  living,  he  erected  a  statue  in 
bis  church,  which,  with  his  other  marks  of  high  regard  for 
this  lady,  created  much  ridicule.  By  her  second  marriage, 
however,  he  was  completely  cured,  and  diverted  his  testa* 
mentary  remembrances  into  more  proper  channels.  Dr. 
Wilson  adopted  the  modest  motto  of  "  Sequitur  patrem, 
aon  passibus  sequis,"  and  in  his  adherence  to  the  turbulent 
politics  of  Wilkes  and  his  party,  certainly  departed  from 
his  father's  example,  but  in  acts  of  benevolence  was  by  no 
means  behind  him.  He  often  employed  the  Rev.  Clement 
Cruttwell,  whom  we  have  mentioned  as  the  editor  of  bishop 
Wilson's  works,  as  his  almoner,  who,  among  many  other 
instances  of  his  liberality  and  prompt  attention  to  the  wants 
of  the  distressed,  used  to  relate  the  following.  One  day 
Dr.  Wilson  discovered  a  clergyman  at  Bath,  who  he  was 
told  was  sick,  poor,  and  bad  a  numerous  fatnily.  In  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  he  gave  Mr.  Cruttwell  a*  consi* 


184  WILSON. 

derable  sum,  (50/.  if  we  have  not  forgot)  requesting  be 
woilld  deliver  it  to  the  clergyman  in  the  most  delicate  . 
manner,  and  as  from  an  unknown  person.  Mr.  Cruttwetl 
said,  "  I  will  call  upon  him  early  in  the  morning." — "  Yon 
will  oblige  me  by  calling  directly.  Think,  sir,  of  what 
importance  a  good  night's  rest  may  be  to  that  poor  man." 
Dr.  Wilson  had  accumulated  a  very  copious  historical  li- 
brary for  the  use  of  Mrs.  Macaulay,  which  he  bequeathed 
to  Mr.  Cruttwell,  along  with  the  copy-right  of  his  father's 
works.  This  curious  library,  after  Mr.  Cruttwell's  death, 
came  into  the  possession  of  one  of  his  nephews  at  Bath. ' 

WINCHELSEA,  ANNE.     See  FINCH. 

WINCHESTER  (Thomas),  a  learned  English  divine, 
was  the  son  of  a  reputable  surgeon  at  Farringdon,  in  the 
county  of  Berks,  where  he  was  born.  He  was  educated  at 
Magdalen-college,  Oxford,  as  a  chorister  and  demy ;  pro- 
ceeded M.A.  in  1736,  B.  D.  in  1747,  and  D.  D.  in  1743. 
In  July  1747  he  was  elected  fellow,  having  been  for  some 
years  before,  as  he  was  afterwards,  a  considerable  tutor  in 
the  cbllege.  In  1761  he  resigned  his  fellowship,  oh  being 
presented  by  the  society  to  the  rectory  of  Appleton,  Berk- 
shire, at  a  small  distance  from  his  native  place  ;  and  in  the 
same  year,  June  10,  he  married  Lucretia  Townson,  sister 
of  Thomas  Townson,  rector  of  Malpas,  Cheshire,  who  had 
also  been  fellow  of  Magdalen-college.  She  died  at  Apple- 
ton,  greatly  esteemed  and  lamented,  Jan.  26,  1772.  Five' 
years  afterwards  he  married  Jennett,  widow  of  his  fellow- 
collegian,  Richard  Lluellyn,  B.  D.  and  sister  of  the  late 
Thomas  Lewis,  esq.  of  FrederickVplace,  London,  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  England.  To  the  sincere  and 
lasting  regret  of  all  who  knew  him,  he  was  seized  with  a 
paralytic  stroke,  which  proved  fatal  May  17,  1780,  and 
was  buried  in  the  chancel  of  his  own  church,  near  the  re* 
mains,  of  his  wife.  His  only  preferment,  besides  the  rec- 
tory of  Appleton,  was  the  curacy  of  Astley-chapel,  near 
Arbury,  Warwickshire,  a  donative  given  him  by  his 
esteemed  friend  sir  Roger  Newdigate,  bart. 

"  His  talents,"  says  his  biographer,  "  if  not  splendid, 
were  sound  and  good,  bis  attainments  various  and  useful ; 
and  he  was  a  true  son  of  the  Church  of  England.  •  He  re- 
sided constantly  on  his  living ;  where  by  his  preaching  and 
example,  he  brought  to  conformity  some  of  the  very  few 

i  Butler's  life  of  Hildesley.— Private  information.-- Gent.  Mag.  vol.  LVK 


WINCHESTER.  185 

Is 

I  ■ 

dissenters  in  his  parish.  He  took  a  most  cordial  interest  in 
the  temporal  and  spiritual  concerns  of  his  parishioners ;  and 
having  studied  anatomy,  and  being  well  skilled  in  medicine, 
he  was,  according  to  the  pattern  of  the  excellent  Mr. 
Herbert's  '  Country  Parson,9  physician  of  the  body  as  well 
as  the  soul,  to  his  flock.'* 

Dr.  Winchester  paid  great  attention  to  such  controver- 
sies in  his  time  as  concerned  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of 
the  church,  and  contributed  some  valuable  remarks  to  con- 
temporary writers  who  were  more  particularly  involved  in 
these  disputes.  He  also  wrote  some  letters  in  the  Gentle- 
man's Magazine  on  the  Confessional  controversy,  and  to- 
pics arising  from  it.  The  only  separate  publication  from 
his  pen  was  published,  but  without  his  name,  in  1773, 
under  the  title  of  "A  Dissertation  on  the  XVIIth  article 
of  the  Church  of  England ;  wherein  the  sentiments  of  the 
compilers,  and  other  contemporary  reformers,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  divine  decrees,  are  fully  deduced  from  their 
own  writings,  to  which  is  subjoined  a  short  tract,  ascer- 
taining the  reign  and  time  in  which  the  royal  declaration 
before  the  XXXIX  articles  was  first  published,"  This 
work  was  reprinted  in  1 803,  on  occasion  of  the  controversy 
being  revived  by  Mr.  Overton,  "  with  emendations  from 
the  author' 8  corrected  copy,  and  the  addition  of  a  biogra- 
phical preface."  The  latter  is  written  by  the  rev.  arch-  . 
deacon  Churton,  and  to  it  we  are  indebted  for  the  pre- 
ceding particulars.1 

WINDER  (Henry),  a  learned  dissenting  divine,  was  born 
May  15,  1693,  at  Hutton-John,  in  the  parish  of  Graystock, 
in  Cumberland,  where  his  father  was  a  farmer.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  grammatical  learning  at  Penruddock,  and  in  his 
fifteenth  year  began  his  divinity  and  philosophy  studies  at 
a  dissenting  academy  at  Whitehaven,  where  he  had  for  his 
contemporaries  Dr.  Rotheram  of  Kendal,  and  Mr.  John  y 
Taylor  of  Norwich,  author  of  the  Hebrew- English  Concor- 
dance. From  Whitehaven,  Mr.  Winder  removed  to  Dub- 
lin, where  for  two  years  he  applied  very  closely  to  the 
study  of  divinity  under  the  rev.  Mr.  Boyse.  After  passing 
the  usual  examinations,  he  became  a  preacher,  but  re- 
turned to  England,  and  in  17 14,  when  only  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  succeeded  Mr.  Edward  Rothwell,  as  pastor  of  a 
congregation  at  Tunley  in  Lancashire,  and  in  1716  was 

1  Biog.  Preface,  aivbove. 


1S6  WINDER. 

t 

ordained.  In  1718  be  was  chosen  pastor  of  the  meeting  at 
Castle-hey  in  Liverpool,  where  it  appears  that  he  had 
jome  trouble  with  his  congregation,  during  certain  disputes 
on  liberty,  charity,  and  the  rights  of  conscience,  which  he 
endeavoured  to  compose  by  referring  them  to  the  Bible  as 
the  only  standard  of  orthodoxy,  not  sufficiently  adverting 
to  the  fact  that  this  is  what  all  sects  profess  to  do,  without 
any  approach  towards  harmony  of  sentiment.  In  1740, 
when  he  was  on  a  visit  at  Glasgow,  the  degree  of  D.  D. 
Was  conferred  upon  him  by  that  university.  He  continued 
to  preside  over  his  congregation  at  Liverpool,  with  great 
approbation,  until  his  death,  Aug.  9,  1752.  As  a  testimony 
*>f  his  esteem  for  his  people,  he  bequeathed  his  well- 
chosen  library  for  the  use  of  his  successors.  Dr.  Winder 
is  known  in  the  literary  world  by  an  ingenious  and  elaborate 
work,. published  a  second  time  in  1756,  2  vols.  4to,  en- 
titled "  A  critical  and  chronological  History  of  the  Rise, 
Progress,  Declension,  and  Revival  of  Knowledge,  chiefly 
religious;  in  two  period},  the  period  of  tradition  from 
Adam  to  Moses,  and  the  period  of  Letters  from  Moses  to 
Christ.''  To  this  are  prefixed  memoirs  of  his  life  by  the 
rev.  Dr.  George  Benson. ! 

WINDHAM  (Joseph),  an  artist  and  antiquary  of  great 
taste  and  talents,  was  born  August  21,  1739,  at  Twicken- 
ham, in  the  house  afterwards  the  residence  of  Richard 
Owen  Cambridge,  esq:  He  was  educated  at  Eton  school, 
from  which  he  went  to  Christ's* college,  Cambridge,  but 
took  no  degree.  He  returned  from  an  extensive  tour 
through  France,  Italy,  Istria,  and  Switzerland,  in  1769; 
and  soon  after  married  the  honourable  Charlotte  De  Grey, 
sister  to  the  lord  Walsingham ;  by  whom  he  has  left  no 
issue.  In  all  which  is  usually  comprehended  under  the 
denomination  of  Belles  Lettres,  Mr.  Windham  may  claim  a 
place  among  the  most  learned  men  of  his  time.  To  an  in- 
defatigable-diligence  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  he  joined 
a  judgment  clear,  penetrating,  and  unbiassed,  and  a  me- 
mory uncommonly  retentive  and  accurate.  An  ardent  love 
for  truth,  a  perfect  freedom  from  prejudice,  jealousy,  and 
affectation,  an  entire  readiness  to'  impart  his  various  and 
copious  information,  united  with  a  singular  modesty  and 
simplicity,  marked  his  conversation  and  manners.  Few 
men  had  a  snore  critical  knowledge  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 

-**  Memoirs  as  above. 


WINDHAM.  187 

languages,  or  a  deeper  feeling  for  the  beauties  of  style 
and  sentiment  in  the  classic  writers  ;  but  in  his  minute  and 
comprehensive  acquaintance  with  every  thing  in  them  illus- 
trative of  human  life  and  manners,  especially  all  that  re- 
lates to  the  fine  arts,  he  scarcely  had  an  equal.     The  his- 
tory of  art  in  the  middle  ages,  and  every  circumstance  re- 
lative to  the  revival  of  literature  and  the  arts,  from  the 
fourteenth  century  to  the  present  time,  were  equally  fa- 
miliar to  him ;  and  his  acquaintance  with  the  language  of 
modern  Italy  was  surpassed  by  few.     He  had  very  particu- 
larly studied  the  antiquities  of  his  own  country,  and  was 
eminently  skilled  in  the  history  of  English  architecture. 
His  pencil,  as  a  draftsman  from  nature,  was  exquisite.     His 
portraits  of  mere  natural  scenery  were  peculiarly  spirited 
and  free,  and  bis  drawings  of  architecture  and  antiquities 
most  faithful  and  elegant.     During  his  residence  at  Rome^ 
he  studied  and  measured  the  remains  of  ancient  architec- 
ture there,  particularly  the  baths,  with  a  precision  which 
would  have  done  honour  to  the  most  able  professional  ar- 
chitect.    His  numerous  plans  and  sections  erf  them  he  gave 
to  Mr.  Cameron,  and  they  are  engraved  in  his  great  work 
on  the  Roman  baths.     To  this  work  he  also  furnished  a 
very  considerable  and  valuable   part  of  the  letter-press. 
He  also  drew  up  the  greater  portion  of  the  letter-press  of 
the  second  volume  of  the  "  Ionian  Antiquities,"  published 
by  the  society  of  Dilettanti ;  and  Mr.  Stuart  received  ma- 
terial assistance  from  him  in  the  second  volume  of  his 
Athens.     In  his  own  name  he  published  very  little*.     His 
accuracy  of  mind  rendered  it  difficult  to  him  to  please 
himself;  and,  careless  of  the' fame  of  an  author,  he  was 
better  content  that  his  friends  should  profit  by  his  labours, 
than  that  the  public  should  know  the  superiority  of  his  own 
acquirements.     He  had  been  long  a  fellow  of  the  Royal 
and  Antiquarian  Societies ;  and  in  the  latter,  was  for  many 
years  of  the  council,  and  one  of  the  committee  for  the 
publication  of  the  Cathedrals  of  England.     He  more  than 
•  once  declined  the  honourable  office  of  vice-president.     Of 
the  society  of  Dilettanti  he  was  one  of  the  oldest  members; 
and  to  his  zeal  it  was  principally  owing  that  the  publica- 
tions of  that  society  were -continued,  after  a  suspension  of 
many  years. 

*  We  know  only  of  his  "  Observa-  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,"  printed  in  the 
tions  upon  a  passage  in  Pliny's  Na-  Archaeologia,  vol.  VI.  with  two  plates, 
tural  History,  relative  to  the  Temple 


18S    ,  W  I  N  D  ff  AM. 

Mr.  Windham  died  at  Earsham-house,  Norfolk,  Sept.  21,' 
1810.  In  private  life,  he  was  the  most  amiable  of  rajsn. 
Benevolent,  generous,  cheerful,  without  caprice,  above 
envy,  his  temper  was  the  unclouded  sun-shine  of  virtue 
and  sense.  If  his  extreme  modesty  and  simplicity  of  cha- 
racter prevented  his  striking  at  (he  first  acquaintance, 
every  hour  endeared  him  to  those  who  had  the  happiness  of 
his  intimacy.  In  every  relation  of  life  he  was  exemplary. 
A  kind  husband,  a  firm  friend,  a  generous  landlord,  an 
indulgent  master. ! 

WINDHAM  (William),  a  late  distinguished  statesman, 
was  descended  of  an  ancient  family  in  Norfolk,  and  was 
born  in  Golden-square,  London,  May  3,  1750.  His  father 
was  colonel  William  Windham,  of  Felbrigg  in  Norfolk,  a 
man  of  versatile  talents  and  an  ardent  mind.  He  was  the 
associate  of  the  wits  of  his  time,  the  friend  and  admirer  of 
Garrick,  and  the  distinguished  patron  of  all  manly  exer- 
cises. In  his  father's  (Ash  Windham's)  life-time,  he  had 
lived  much  on  the  continent,  particularly  in  Spain,  and  of 
bis  proficiency  in  the  language  of  that  country,  he  gave 
proof  in  some  printed  observations  on  Smollett's  translation 
of  Don  Quixote.  At  home  he  had  devoted  his  attention 
to  the  improvement  of  the  militia,  of  which  he  became  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and  was  the  author  of  a  "  Plan  of  Disci- 
pline composed  for  the  use  of  the  militia  of  the  county  of 
Norfolk,"  1760,  4to,  which  was  much  esteemed,  and  ge- 
nerally adopted  by  other  corps  of  the  establishment.  He 
died  of  a  consumptive  disorder  in  the  following  year,  leav- 
ing one  son,  the  subject  of  the  present  article. 

At  seven  years  of  age  young  Mr.  Windham  was  placed  at 
Eton,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  about  sixteen,  dis- 
tinguishing himself  by  the  vivacity  and  brilliancy  of  fris 
talents.  On  leaving  Eton  in  1766,  he  went  to  the  univer- 
sity of  Glasgow,  where  he  resided  for  about  a  year  in  the 
.house  of  Dr.  Anderson,  professor  of  natural  philosophy, 
and  diligently  attended  his  lectures  and  those  of  Dr.  Robert 
Simson,  professor  of  mathematics.  For  this  study  Mr. 
Windham  had  an  early  predilection,  and  left  behind  him 
three  treatises  on  mathematical  subjects.  In  Sept.  1767 
he  was  entered  a  gentleman  commoner  of  University-col- 
lege, Oxford,  Mr.  (afterwards  sir  Robert)  Chambers  being 
bis  tutor.     While  here  he  took  so  little  interest  in  public 

V  tic*.  Ma*.  ™l.  LXXX. 


^INDHA  M.  1*5 

affairs,  that  it  became  the  standing  joke  of  one  of  his  con~ 
temporaries,  that  "  Windham  would  never  know  who  was 
prime  minister.9'  This  disinclination  to  a  political  life, 
added  to  a  modest  diffidence  in  his  own  talents,  led  him 
about  this  period,  to  reject  an  offer  which,  by  a  youth  not 
more  than  twenty  years  of  age,  might  have  been  considered 
as  a  splendid  one,  that  of  being  named  secretary  to  his 
father's  friend,  lord  Townshend,  who  had  been  appointed 
lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland. 

After  four  years  residence,  he  left  Oxford  in  1771  ;  he 
always  retained  feelings  of  gratitude  towards  bis  alma 
mater y  and  preserved  to  the  last  an  intimate  acquaintance 
and  correspondence  with  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
T^sident  members.  He  probably  took  his  degree  of  B.  A. 
while  at  college,  but  did  not  obtain  that  of  A.  M.  until 
1782,  and  then  by  creation,  as  he  did  that  of  LL.  D.  in 
1793  at  the  installation  of  the  duke  of  Portland.  It  is  re- 
lated that  on  this  occasion,  almost  the  whole  assembly  rose 
from  their  seats,  when  he  entered  the  theatre,  and  received 
him  with  acclamations  of  applause.  Nor  was  his  memory 
forgotten  at  the  late  installation  of  lord  Grenville ;  for  in 
the  recitations  made  on  that  occasion,  due  honours  were 
paid  to  the  genius,  taste,  and  acquirements  of  which  the 
public  had  recently  been  deprived. 

In  1773,  when  he  was  but  twenty-three  years  old,  his 
love  of  adventure  and  his  thirst  of  knowledge,  induced 
him  to  accompany  his  friend,  Constantino  lord  Mulgrave, 
in  bis  voyage  towards  the  North  Pole;  but  he  was  so  ha- 
rassed with  sea-sickness,  that  he  was  under  the  necessity 
of  being  landed  in  Norway,  and  of  wholly  abandoning  his 
purpose.  His  earliest  essay  as  a  public  speaker  was  occa- 
sioned by  a  call  which  was  made  on  the  country,  for  a  sub- 
scription *in  aid  of  government,  to  be  applied  towards  car- 
rying on  the  war  with  our  American  colonies.  A  meeting 
for  this  purpose  was  held  at  Norwich,  and  his  speech, 
which  has  been  preserved  by  his  biographer,  though  it 
must  not  be  compared  with  later  specimens  of  his  elo- 
quence, may  be  allowed  to  exhibit  some  proofs  of  acute- 
ness,  dexterity,  and  vigour.  He  opposed  the  subscription, 
as  well  as  the  war  itself.  Sometime  before  this  he  had 
entered  himself  as  ai>  officer  in  the  western  battalion  erf 
Norfolk  militia,  and  when  quartered  at  Bury  in  Suffolk, 
by  his  intrepidity  and  personal  exertion,  he  quelled  a  dan- 
gerous mutiny  which  had  broke  out,  notwithstanding  he 


190 


W  I  N  D  fl  A  IT. 


"was  highly  beloved  by  the  regiment.  Soo\i  afterwards,  in 
consequence  of  remaining  several  hours  in  wet  cloaths,  he 
was  seized  with  a  dangerous  bilious  fever,  which  nearly 
deprived  him  of  his  life.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year, 
partly  with  a  view  of  restoring  his  health,  he  went  abroad, 
and  spent  the  two  following  years  in  Switzerland  and  Italy. 
Previously  to  bis  leaving  England,  he  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  Literary  club  founded  by  sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds and  Dr.  Johnson,' who  had  the  greatest  esteem  for 
Mr,  Windham ;  and,  notwithstanding  his  engagements  in 
consequence  of  his  parliamentary  business,  and  the  impor- 
tant office*  which  he  filled,  he  was  a  very  frequent  attend* 
ant  at  the  meetings  of  that  society,  for  which  he  always 
expressed  the  highest  value,  from  1781  to  near  the  time  of 
his  death/  In  1782  he  came  into  parliament,  where  he 
sat  for  twenty-eight  years,  at  first  for  Norwich,  and  after- 
wards for  various  boroughs  ;  and  he  so  early  distinguished 
himself  in  the  House  of  Commons,  that  he  was  selected  by 
Mr.  Burke  in  1784  to  second  his  motion  for  a  representa- 
tion to  his  majesty  on  the  state  of  the  nation.  He  was  at 
this  time  in  the  ranks  of  the  opposition,  created  by  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  Pitt  to  be  prime-minister,  and  may 
have  been  said  to  be  particularly  of  the  school  of  Burke, 
with  whom  he  afterwards  thought  and  acted  on  many 
important  occasions.  In  the  preceding  year,  he  had  been 
appointed  principal  secretary  to  the  earl  of  Northing- 
ton,  then  constituted  lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland ;  and  in 
that  capacity  he  visited  Dublin  in  the  spring  of  1783,  and 
intended  to  have  accompanied  his  excellency,  when  he 
afterwards  opened  the  session  of  parliament  there  in  Oc- 
tober*, but  being  prevented  by  illness,  he  relinquished 
the  office. 


*  When  about  to  visit  that  country  in 
bis  official  capacity,  he  called  on  Dr. 
Johnson ;  and  in  the  course  of  con- 
versation lamented  that  be  should  be 
under  the  necessity  of  sanctioning 
practices  of  which  he  could  not  ap- 
prote.  «*  Don't  be  afraid,  sir,"  said 
the  doctor,  with  a'  pleasant  smile, 
•*  you  will  soon  make  a  very  pretty 
rascal." — Dr.  Johnson  m  a  letter  to 
Dr.  BrockJesby,  written  at  Ashbourne 
in  1784,  says:  "  Mr.  Wiudbam  has 
been  here  to  see  me — he  came,  I 
think,  forty  miles  out  of  his  way, 
and  staid  about  a  day  aod  a  half; 


perhaps  I  make  the  time  shorter  than 
it  was.  Such  conversation  I  shall  not 
have  again  till  I  come  back  to  the  re- 
gions of  Literature,  and  there  Wind- 
ham is  inter  stellas  tuna  minor w."  Al- 
though we  have  said  that  illness  was 
the  cause  of  Mr.  Windham's  resigna- 
tion, his  biographer  affords  some  rea- 
son to  think  that  it  really  arose  from 
the  conscientious  scruples  which  Dr. 
Johnson  thought  might  soon  vanish, 
and  that  it  was  owing  to  bis  being 
dissatisfied  with  some  part  of  the  lord 
lieutenant's  conduct. 


WINDHAM.  1*1 

Although  from  the  time  of  his  coming  into  parliament, 
he  usually  voted  with  the  opposition  of  that  day,  he  never 
was  what  is  called  a  thorough  party- man,  frequently  de- 
viating from  those  to  whom  he  wa3  in  general  attached, 
when,  in  matters  of  importance,  his  conscience  directed 
him  to  take  a  different  course  from  them ;  on  which  ac- 
count his  virtues  and  talents  were  never  rightly  appreciated 
by  persons  of  that  description,  who  'frequently  on  this 
ground  vainly  attempted  to  undervalue  him.  After  the 
rupture  between  Mr.  Fox  and  Mr.  Burke,  in  consequence 
of  the  French  revolution,  Mr.  Windham  attached  himself 
wholly  to  the  latter,  with  whom  he  bad  for  many  years 
lived  in  the  closest  intimacy;  and  of  whose  genius  and 
virtues  he  had  always  the  highest  admiration.  Being  with 
him  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  danger  then  impending 
over  his  country  from  the  measures  adopted  by  certain 
classes  of  Englishmen,  in  consequence  of  that  tremendous 
convulsion,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  unite  with  the  duke  of 
Portland,  lord  Spencer,  and  others,  in  accepting  offices 
under  the  administration  in  which  Mr.  Pitt  then  presided. 
On  this  arrangement  Mr.  Windham  was  appointed  secre- 
tary at  war,  with  a  seat  in  the  cabinet,  an  honourable  dis- 
tinction which  had  never  before  been  annexed  to  that 
office.  This  station  he  continued  to  fill  with  the  highest 
reputation  from  that  time  (1794)  till  1801,  when  he,  lord 
Spencer,  lord  Grenville,  and  Mr.  Pitt,  resigned  their  offi- 
ces ;  and  shortly  afterwards  Mr.  Addington  (now  lord-  vis- 
count Sid  mouth)  was  appointed  chancellor  of  the  exchequer 
and  first  lord  of  the  treasury.  On  the  preliminaries  of 
peaoe  with  France  being  acceded  to  by  that  statesman  and 
his  coadjutors,  in  1 80 \f[ Mr.  Windham  made  his  celebrated 
speech  in  parliament,  which  was  afterwards  (April  1802) 
published,  with  an  Appendix,  containing  a  character  of 
the  Usurper  of  the  French  throne,  which  will  transmit  to 
posterity  the  principal  passages  of  his  life  up  to  that  period, 
in  the  most  lively  colours.  On  Mr.  Addington  being  driven 
from  the  helm,  in  )H0S,  principally  by  the  battery  of  Mr. 
Windham's  eloquence,  a  new  administration  was  again 
formed  by  Mr.  Pitt,  which  was  dissolved  by  his  death,  in 
1806;  and  shortly  afterwards,  on  lord  Grenville's  accept* 
ing  the  office  of  first  lord  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Windham 
was  appointed  secretary  of  state  for  the  war  department^ 
which  he  held  till  his  majesty  in  the  following  year  thought 
it  to  constitute  a  new  administration.     During  this  period- 


192  WINDHAM. 

be  carried  into  a  law  his  bill  for  the  limited  service  of  those 
who  enlist  in  our  regular  army  ;  a  measure  which  will  ever 
epdear  his  name  to  the  English  soldiery.  But  it  is  not  our 
purpose  to  detail  the  particular  measures  which  either 
originated  from  him,  or  in  which  he. took  a  part.  This  in- 
deed would  be  impossible  within  any  prescribed  limits; 
and  would  involve  the  history  of  perhaps  the  whole  of  the 
war.  It  may  suffice  to  notice  that  his  genius  and  talents 
were  universally  acknowledged.  He  was  unquestionably 
not  inferior,  in  many  respects,  to  the  most  admired  cha- 
racters of  the  age  that  is  just  gone  by.  He  bad  been  in 
his  earlier  years  a  very  diligent  student,  and  was  an  excel- 
lent Greek  and  Latin  scholar.  In  his  latter  years,  like 
Burke  and  Johnson,  he  was  an  excursive  reader,  but  ga- 
thered a  great  variety  of  knowledge  from  different  books, 
arid  from  occasionally  mixing,  like  them,  with  very  various 
classes  and  descriptions  of  men.  His  memory  was  most 
tenacious.  In  his  parliamentary  speeches  his  principal 
object  always  was  to  convince  the  understanding  by  irre- 
fragable argument,  which  he  at  the  same  time  enlivened 
by  a  profusion  of  imagery,  drawn  sometimes  from  the  most 
abstruse  parts  of  science,  but  oftener  from  the  most  familiar 
objects  of  common  life.  But  what  gave  a  peculiar  lustre 
to  whatever  he  urged,  was  his  known  and  uniform  integrity, 
and  a  firm  conviction  in  the  breasts  of  his  hearers,  that  he 
always  uttered  the  genuine  and  disinterested  sentiments  of 
his  heart.  His  language,  both  in  writing  and  speaking, 
was  always  simple,  and  he  was  extremely  fond  of  idiomatic 
phrases,  which  he  thought  greatly  contributed  to  preserve 
the  purity  of  our  language.  He  surveyed  every  subject  of 
importance  with  a  philosophic  eye,  and  was  thence  enabled 
to  discover  and  detect  latent  mischief,  concealed  under  the 
plausible  appearance  of  public  advantage.  Hence  all  the 
clamourers  for  undefined  and  imaginary  liberty,  and  all 
those  who  meditate  the  subversion  of  the  constitution  under 
the  pretext  of  Reform^  shrunk  from  his  grasp;  and  persons 

!>f  this  description  were  his  only  enemies.  But  his  daunt* 
ess  intrepidity,  and  his  noble  disdain  of  vulgar  popularity, 
held  up  a  shield  against  their  «malice ;  and  no  fear  of  con- 
sequences ever  drove  him  from  that  manly  and  honourable 
course,  which  the.  rectitude  and  purity  of  his  mind  induced 
him  to  pursue.  As  an  orator,  he .  was  simple,  elegant, 
prompt,  and  graceful.  His. genius  was  so  fertile,  and  his 
reading  so  extensive,  that  there  were  few  subjects  on  which 


WINDHAM.  193 

fife  could  not  instruct,  amuse,  and  persuade.  He  was  fre- 
quently (as  has  justly  been  observed)  "  at  once  entertain* 
itig  and  abstruse,  drawing  illustrations  promiscuously  fronrf 
famitiar  life,  and  the  recondite  parts  of  science ;  nor  wa4 
it  unusual  to  bear  him  through  three  adjoining  sentences, 
in  the  first  witty,  in  the  second  metaphysical,  and  in  the 
last  scholastic."  But  bis  eloquence  derived  Its  principal 
power  from  the  quickness  of  his  apprehension,  and  the 
philosophical  profundity  of  his  mind,  fn  private  life  nd 
man  perhaps  of  any  age  had  a  greater  nuftiber  of  zealous 
friends  and  admirers.  In  addition  to  his  extraordinary  ta- 
lents and  accomplishments,  the  grace  and  happiness  of  his 
address  and  manner  gave  an  irresistible  charm  to  his  cori^ 
versation ;  and  few,  it  is  believed,  of  either  sex  (for  his* 
address  to  ladies  was  inimitably  elegant  and  graceful)  evcfr 
partook  of  his  society  without  pleasure  atfd  admiration,  or 
quitted  it  without  regret.  His  brilliant  imagination1,  his 
Various  knowledge,  his  acuteness,  his  good  taste,  bis  wit; 
bis  dignity  of  sentiment,  and  his  gentleness  of  manner  (for7 
he  never  was  loud  or  intemperate)  made  him  Universally 
admired  and  respected.  To  crown  all  these  virtues  and 
accomplishments,  it  may  be  added,  that  he  fulfilled  all  the 
duties  of  life,  the  lesser  as  Well  as  the  greatest,  with  the 
most  scrupulous  attention  ;  and  was  always  particularly  ar- 
dent in  vindicating  the  cause  of  oppressed  merit.  But  hitf 
best  eulogy  is  the  general  sentiment  of  sorrow  which  agi- 
tated every  btosom  on  the  sudden  and  unexpected  stroke 
which  terminated  in  his  death.  During  the  nineteen  days 
of  his  sickness,  his  haH  was  daily  visited  by  several  hundred 
successive  inquirers  concerning  the  state  of  his  health ;  and 
that  part  of  Pall  Mall  in  which  his  house  was  situated,  was 
thronged  with  carriages  filled  with  ladles,  whom  a  similar 
anxiety  brought  to  his  door.  Every  morning,  and  also  at  a 
late  hour  every  evening,  when  his  physicians  and  surgeons 
attended,  several  apartments  in  his  house  were  filled  with 
friends,  Who  anxiously  waited  to  receive  the  latest  and 
most  accurate  accounts  of  the  progress  or  abatement  of 
his  disorder.  This  sympathetic  feeling  extended  almost 
through  every  class,  and  even  reached  the  throne^  for  his 
majesty  frequently  inquired  concerning  the  state  of  his 
health,  pronouncing  on  htm  this}  high  eulogy,  that  €t  hd 
was  a  genuine  patriot,  and  a  truly  honest  man."  Of  the 
fatal  malady  which  put  an  end  to  his  invaluable  life,  erro- 
neous accounts  have  been  published,  but  the  fact  was,  that 
Vol.  XXXII.  O 


194  WINDHAM. 

on  the  8th  of  July.  1809,  Mr.  Windham,  returning  on  foot 
at  twelve  o'clock  at  night  from  the  house  of  a  friend,  as  he 
passed  by  the  end  of  Conduit-street,  saw  a  bouse  on  fire, 
and  instantly  hastened  to  the  spot,  with  a  view  to  assist  the 
sufferers  j  and  soon  observed  that  the  house  of  the  Hon* 
Mr.  Frederic  North  was  not  far  distant  from  that  which  was 
then  on  fire.  He  therefore  immediately  undertook  to 
save  his  friend's  library,  which  he  knew  to  be  very  valu- 
able. With  the  most  strenuous  activity  he  exerted  him- 
self for  four  hours,  in  the  midst  of  rain  and  the  playing  of 
the  fire-engines,  with  such  effect  that,  with  the  assistance 
of  two  or  three  persons  whom  he  bad  selected  from  the 
crowd  assembled  on  this  occasion,  he  saved  four  parts  out 
of  five  of  the  library ;  and  before  they  could  empty  the 
fifth  book  room,  the  house  took  fire.  The  books  were,  im- 
mediately removed,  not  to  Mr.  Windham's  house,  but  to 
the  houses  of  the  opposite  neighbours,  who  took  great  car$ 
of  them.  In  removing  some  heavy  volumes  he  accidentally 
fell,  and  suffered  a  slight  contusion  on  his  hip,  of  which, 
however,  he  unfortunately  took  no  notice  for  some  months, 
when  an  indolent  encysted  tumour  was  formed,  which, 
after  due  consultation,  it  was  judged  proper  to  cut  out* 
The  operation  was  accordingly  performed  apparently  with 
success  on  May  17,  1810,  but  soon  after  unfavourable 
symptoms  came  on,  and  terminated  fatally  June  4,  to  the 
unspeakable  regret  of  all  who  knew  him.1 

WINDHAM.     SeeWYNDHAM. 

WILFRID  or  WINFRID.     See  BONIFACE,  St. 

WIN  GATE  (Edmund),  whom  Dr.  Hutton  pronounces 
one  of  the  clearest  writers  on  arithmetic,  &c.  in  the  Eng- 
lish language,  was  the  son  of  Roger  Wingate,  esq.  of  Bor- 
nend  and  Sbarpenhoe,  in  Bedfordshire,  but  was  born  in 
Yorkshire  in  1593.  In  1610  he  became  a  commoner  of 
Queen's-college,  Oxford,  and  after  taking  a  degree  in  arts* 
removed  to  Gray's -Inn,  London,  where  he  studied  the 
law.  His  chief  inclination,  however,  was  to  the  mathe- 
matics) which  he  had  studied  with  much  success  at  college. 
In.  1624  he  was  in  France,  where  he  published  the  scale, 
or  rule  of  proportion,  which  had  been  invented  by  Gunter, 
and  while  in  that  country  gave  instructions  in  the  English 
language  to  the  princess  Henrietta  Maria,  afterwards  wife 

1  Gent.  Mag.  vol.  LXXX.— Speeches  in  Parliament;  with  an  excellent  account 
of  Mr.  Windham's  Life  by  Thomaa  Amyot,  esq.  1812,  3  vols.  8vo. 


W  I  N  G  A  T  E.  195 

of  Charles  L  and  to  her  ladies.  After  his  return  to  Eng- 
land, he  became  a  bencher  of  Gray's-Inn;  and  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  great  rebellion,  he  joined  the  popular 
party,  took  the  covenant,  was  made  justice  of  the  peace 
for  the  county  of  Bedford,  where  he  resided  at  Woodend 
in  the  parish  of  Harlington.  His  name  occurs  in  the  re- 
gister of  Atnpthill  church,  as  a  justice,  in  1654,  at  which 
period,  according  to  the  republican  custom*  marriages 
were  celebrated  by  the  civil  magistrate.  In  1650  he  took 
the  oath,  commonly  called  the  engagement*  became  inti- 
mate with  Cromwell,  and  was  chosen  into  his  parliament 
for  Bedford.  He  was  also  appointed  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners, for  that  county,  to  eject  from  their  situations 
those  loyal  clergymen  and  schoolmasters  who  were  accused 
as  being  scandalous  and  ignorant  He  died  in  Gray's-Inn* 
in  1656,  and  was  buried  in  the  parish  church  of  St.  An- 
drew Holborn. 

His  works  are,  1 .  "  The  use  of  the  proportional  Rules 
in  Arithmetic  and  Geometry ;  also  the  use  of  Logarithms 
of  numbers^  with  those  of  sines  and  tangents ;"  printed  in 
French,  at  Paris,  1624,  8vo,  and  at  London,  in  English, 
1626,  1645,  and  1658.  In  this  book,  Mr.  Wingate  speaks, 
of  having  been  the  first  who  carried  the  logarithms  to 
France ;  but  an  edition  of  Napier's  "  Description  and  con- 
struction of  Logarithms*'  was  printed  at  Lyons  in  1620,  four 
years  earlier  than  Wingate' s  publication.  2;  "  Of  Natural 
and  Artificial  Arithmetic,  or  Arithmetic  made  easy,"  Lond. 
I63CL  &vo,  which  has  gone  through  numerous  editions; 
the  west  is  that  by  Mr.  Dodson.  3.  "  Tables  of  Logarithms 
of  the  signs  and  tangents  of  all  the  degrees  and  minute^of 
the  Quadrant;  with  the  use  and  application  of  the  same,91 
ibid.  1633,  8vo,  4.  "  The  Construction  and  use  of  Loga- 
rithms, with-  the  resolution  of  Triangles,  &c."  5*  "  Ludus 
Mathetnaticus  i  or  an  Explanation  of  the  description,  con- 
struction, and  use  of  the  numerical  table  of  proportion," 
ibid.  1*654,  8vo.  6i  "  Tacto-meuria,  seu  Tetagne-nome- 
tria,  or  the' Geometry  of  regulars*  &c."*  8vo.  1.  "The 
exact  Surveyor  of  Land,  &c."  8vo.  8.  "  An  exact  abridg- 
ment of  all  the  statutes  in  force  and  use  from  the  Magna 
Chartato  1641,"  1655,  8vo,  reprinted  and  continued  to 
1663,  1680, 1631,  and  1684,  0.  "  The  body  of  the  common 

*  This  was  probably  a  republication  of  John  Wy herd's,  which  appeared  un- 
der the  sasM  title  in  1650.  Wyberd  was  a  physician,  and  is  slightly  noticed  by 
Wood  is  Atn.  Ox.  vol.  lit 

0  2 


196  ,  W  I  N  G  A  T  E. 

law  pf  England,"  1655,  &c.  S*o,  10.  "Maxims  of  rea- 
son, of  the  Reason  of  the  Common  Law  of  England,"  1658, 
fol.  1 1.  "  Statu ta  Pacis;  or,  the  Table  of  all.  the  Statutes 
which  any  way  concern  the  office  of  a  justice  of  peace, 
&c."  12mo.  12.  Ad  edition  of  Britton,  1640,  12mo.  He 
was  supposed  to  be  the  editor  of  some  other  law  books, 
which  show  equal  judgment  and  industry,  but  he  is  now 
remembered  only  as  a  mathematician.1 

WINKELMAN  (Abb6  John),  an  eminent  antiquary, 
was  born  at  Stendall,  in  the  old  Marche  of  Brandenbourg, 
in  the  beginning  of  1718.  He  was  the  son  of  a  shoemaker, 
but  although  to  all  appearance  destined  by  his  birth  to  su- 
perintend a  little  school  in  an  obscure  town  in  Germany, 
he  raised  himself  to  the  office  of  president  of  antiquities  in 
the  Vatican.  After  having  been  seven  years  professor  in 
the  cfollege  of  Seehausen  near  Salswedel,  he  went  into 
Saxony,  where  he  resided  seven  years  more,  and  was  li- 
brarian to  count  Bunau  at  Nothenitz.  The  count  was  au- 
thor of  an  "  History  of  the  Empire,"  and  died  1762,  Hia 
fine  library,  valued  in  1749  at  15,000  English  crowns,  baa 
been  since  added  to  the  public  library  of  Dresden.  Mr. 
Winkelman,  in  1748,  made  a  most  methodical  and  inform- 
ing catalogue  of  it,  in  4  vols.  When  he  left  this  place  in 
1754,  he  went  to  Dresden,  where  he  formed  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  ablest  artists,  and  particularly  with  M.  Oeser, 
an  excellent  painter,  and  one  of  the  best  draughtsmen  of 
the  age.  In  that  year  he  abjured  Lutberanism,  and  em- 
braced the  .Roman  catholic  religion*  In  Sept.  1755,  he 
set  out  for  Italy,  and  arrived  at  Rome  in  December  follow- 
ing. His  principal  object  was  to  see  the  Vatican  library, 
and  to  examine  the  ruins  of  Herculaneum.  While  en- 
gaged, as  he  tells  us,  in  teaching  some  dirty  boys  their 
ABC,  he  aspired  to  a  knowledge  of  the  beautiful,  and 
silently  meditated  on  the  comparisons  of  Homer's  Greek, 
with  the  Latin  literature,  and  a  critical  acquaintance  with 
the  respective  languages,  which  were  more  familiar  to  him 
than  they  had  ever  been  to  any  former  lover  of  antiquity, 
both  by  his  application  in  studying  them,  and  bis  public 
lectures  as  professor  of  them.  His  extensive  reading  was 
improved  in  the  noble  and  large  library  which  he  afterwards 
superintended.  The  solitude  and  the  beauty  of  the  spot 
where  he  lived,  and  the  Platonic  reveries  which  he  iiv- 

*  Ath.  Os.  voU  II.'-*Hutton'f  Dictioniry,  new  edit. 


WINKELMAN.  197 

ditlged,  aH  served  to  prepare  the  mind  for  the  enthusiasm 
whjch  he  felt  at  the  sight  of  the  master-pieces  of  art.     His 
first  steps  in  this  career  bespoke  a  man  of  genius ;  but 
what  a  concurrence  of  circumstances  were  necessary  to 
develope  bis  talents !   The  magnificent  gallery  of  paintings 
and  the  cabinet  of  antiquities  at  Dresden,  the  conversation 
of  artists  and  amateurs,  his  journey  to  Rome,  his  residence 
there,  the  friendship  of  Mengs  the  painter,  his  residence 
in  the  palace  and  villa  of  cardinal  Albani,  his  place  of 
writer  in  the  Vatican,  and  that  of  president  of  antiquities, 
were  so  many  advantages  and  helps  to  procure  him  mate- 
rials, and  to  facilitate  to  him  the  use  of  them  for  the  exe- 
cution of  the  design  which  be  had  solely  911  view.     Abso- 
lute master  of  his  time,  be  lived  in  a  state  of  perfect  inde- 
pendence, which  is  the  true  source  of  genius,  contenting 
himself  with  a  frugal  and  regular  life,  and  knowing  no 
other  passions  than  those  which  tended  to  inflame  his  ardent 
pursuit.     An  active  ambition  urged   him   on,  though  he 
affected  to  conceal  it  by  a  stoical  indifference.     A  lively 
imagination,  joined  to  an  excellent  memory,  enabled  him 
to  derive  great  advantages  from  his  study  of  the  works  of 
the  ancients,  and  a  steady  indefatigable  zeal  led  him  natu- 
rally to  new  discoveries.     He  kindled  in  Rome  the  torch 
of  sound  study  of  the  works  of  the  ancients.     His  intimate 
acquaintance  with  them  enabled  him  to  throw  greater  cer- 
tainty upon  his  explanations,  and  even  upon  his  conjec- 
tures, and  to  overthrow  many  arbitrary  principles  and  an- 
cient prejudices.     His  greatest  merit  is,  to  have  pointed 
out  the  true  source  of  the  study  of  antiquity,  which  is  the 
knowledge  of  art,  to  which  no  writer  had  before  attended. 
Mr.  Winkelman  carried  with  him   into  Italy  a  sense  of 
beauty  and  art,  which  led  him  instantly  to  admire   the 
master- pieces*  of  the  Vatican,  and  with  which  he  began  to 
study  them.     He  soon  increased  his  knowledge,  and  it  was 
not  till  after  he  had  thus  purified  his  taste,  and  entertained 
conceptions  of  ideal  beauty,  which  transported  bim  to  in* 
spiration,  and  led  him  into  the  greatest  secrets  of  art,  that 
he  began  to  think  of  the  explanation  of  other  monuments, 
in  which  his  great  learning  could  not  fail  to  distinguish 
him.     At  the  same  time  another  immortal  scholar  treated 
the  science  of  antiquity  in  the  same  manner  on  this  side 
the  Alps.     Count  Caylus  had  a  profound  and  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  arts,  was  master  of  the  mechanical  part, 
and  drew  and  engraved  in  a  capital  style.     Winkelman  was 


n 


198  WINKELMAN, 

not  endowed  with  these  advantages,  but  in  point  of  classic 
cat  erudition  surpassed  the  count;  and  while  the  latter 
employed  himself  in  excellent  explications  of  little  objects, 
(he  former  bad  continually  before  him  at  Rome  the  greatest 
monuments  of  ancient  art.  This  erudition  enabled  him  to 
fill  up  his  principal  plan  of  writing  the  "  History  of  Art. 
In  1756  be  planned  bis  "Restoration  of  Ancient  Statues, 
and  a  larger  work  on  the  "  Taste  of  the  Greek  Artists ;" 
find  designed  an  account  of  the  galleries  of  Rome  and  Italy, 
beginning  witb  a  volume  on  the  Belvedere  statues,  in  the 
manner  of  Richardson,  wbo,  he  says,  only  ran  over  Rome. 
In  the  preface  he  intended  to  mention  the  fate  of  these 
statues  at  the  sacking  of  Rome  in  1527,  when  the  soldiers 
made  a  fire  in  Raphael's  lodge,  which  spoiled  many  things. 
He  also  intended  a  history  of  the  corruption  of  taste  in  art, 
the  restoration  of  statues,  and  an  illustration  of  the  obscure 
points  of  mythology.  All  these  different  essays  led  bim  to 
bis  "  History  of  Art/9  and  bis  "  Monument!  luediti."  It 
must,  however,  be  confessed,  that  the  first  of  these  works 
has  not  all  the  clearness  and  precision  that  might  be  ex- 
pected in  its  general  plan,  and  division  of  its  parts  and  ob- 
jects ;  but  it  has  enlarged  and  extended  the  ideas  both  of 
antiquaries  and  collectors.  The  description  of  the  gems 
and  sulphurs  of  the  Stosch  cabinet  contributed  not  a  little 
to  extend  Mr.  Winkelman's  knowledge.  Few  persons  have 
bad  opportunities  of  contemplating  such  vast  collections. 
The  engravings  of  Lippet  and  count  Caylus  are  all  that 
inany  can  arrive  at.  Mr.  Winkelman's  "  Monumenti  Ine- 
diti,"  of  which  he  had  begun  the  third  vol.  1767,  seem  to 
have  secured  bim  the  esteem  of  antiquaries.     He  there  exT 

}>lained  a  number  of  monuments,  and  particularly  bas  re- 
iefs  till  then  accounted  inexplicable,  witb  a  parade  of 
learning  more  in  compliance  with  the  Italian  fashion  than 
was  necessary.  Had  he  lived,  we  should  have  had  a  work 
long  wished  for,  a  complete  collection  of  the  bas  reliefs 
discovered  from  the  time  of  Bartoli  to  the  present,  the 
greater  part  of  which  are  in  the  possession  of  cardinal  AU 
banL  But  however  we  may  regret  his  tragical  end,  the 
intenseness  of  his  application,  and  the  eagerness  of  his 
pursuit  after  ancient  monuments,  had  at  last  so  bewildered 
him  io  conjectures,  that,  from  a  commentator  on  the  works 
of  the  ancients,  he  became  a  kind  of  seer  or  prophet. 
His  warm  imagination  outran  his  judgment.  As  he  pro* 
ceeded  in  his  knowledge  of  the  characters  of  art  in  monu- 


W  I  N  K  E  L  M  A  N.  199 

ments,  be  exhausted  his  fund  of  observations  drawn  from 
the  ancients,  and  particularly  from  the  Greeks.  He  cited 
early  editions,  which  are  frequently  not  divided  into  chap* 
ters ;  and  he  was  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  publica- 
tions in  the  rest  of  Europe  on  the  arts  and  antiquity. 
Hence  his  "  History  of  Art"  is  full  of  anachronisms. 

In  one  of  his  letters,  dated  1754,  he  gives  an  account 
of  bis  change  of  religion,  which  too  plainly  appears  to  have 
been  guided  by  motives  of  interest,  in  order  to  make  his 
way  to  Rome,  and  gain  a  better  livelihood.     At  Dresden 
be  published,   1755,  "  Reflections  on  the  Imitation  of  the 
Works  of  the  Greeks,"  4to,  translated  into  French  the  same 
year,  and  republished  1756,  4to.     At  Rome  he  made  an 
acquaintance  with  Mengs,  first  painter  to  the  king  of  Po- 
land, afterwards,  in  1761,  appointed   first  painter   to   the 
house  of  Spain,  with  an  appointment  of  80,000  crowns,  a 
house,  and  a  coach;  and  he  soon  got  access  to  the  library 
of  cardinal  Passiooei,  who  is  represented  as  a  most  catho- 
lic and  respectable  character,  who  only  wanted  ambition 
to  be  pope.     His  catalogue  was  making  by  an  Italian,  and 
the  work  was  intended  for  Winkelman.     Giacomelli,  canon 
of  St.  Peter,  &c.  bad  published  two  tragedies  of  iEschylus 
and  Sophocles,  with  an  Italian  translation  and  notes,  and 
was  about  a  new  edition  of  "  Chrysostom  de  Sacerdotio;" 
and  Winkelman   had  joined  with  him  in  an  edition  of  an 
unprinted  Greek  oration  of  Libanius,  from  two  MSS.  in 
the  Vatican  and  Barberini  libraries.     In  175?  he  laments 
the  calamities  of  his  native  country,  Saxony,  which  was 
then  involved  in  the  war  between  the  emperor  and  the  king 
of  Prussia.     In  1758  he  meditated  a  journey   over  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  which  he  says  could  only  be  done  on 
foot,  and  in  the  habit  of  a  pilgrim,  on  account  of  the  many 
difficulties  and  dangers,  and  the  total  want  of  horses  and 
carriages  from  Viterbo  to  Pisciota,  the  ancient  Velia.     In 
1768  we  find  him  inraptured  with  the  idea  of  a  voyage  to 
Sicily,  where   he  wished  to  make  drawings  of  the  many 
beautiful  earthen  vases  collected  by  the  Benedictines  at 
Catana.     At  the  end  of  the  first  volume  of  his  letters,  178  J,  . 
were  first  published  his  remarks  on  the  ancient  architec- 
ture of  the  temple  of  Girgenti.     He  was  going  to  Naples, 
with  100  crowns,  part  of  a  pension  from  the  king  of  Po- 
land, for  his  travelling  charges,  and  thence  to  Florence, 
at  the  invitation  of  baron  Stosch.  *  Cardinal. Archinto,  se- 
cretary of  state,  employed  him  to  take  care  of  his  library. 


gOO  W.  I  N  K  E  L  M  A  N> 

His  "  Remarks  an  Ancient  Architecture''  were  ready  for  a 
second  edition.  He  was  preparing  a  worjf  in  Italian,  to 
fclear  up  some  obscure  poiuu  in  mythology  and  antiquities* 
With  above  fifty  plates  ;  another  in  Latin,  explanatory  of 
the  Greek  medals  that  are  least  known  ;  and  be  intended 
to  send  to  be  printed  in  England  "  An  Essay  on  the  Style 
pf  Sculpture  before  Phidias.19  A  work  in  4to  appeared  at 
£urich,  addressed  to  Mr.  Winkeiman,  by  Mr.  Meogs,  but 
without  his  name,  entitled,  •'  Thoughts  on  Beauty  and 
Taste  in  Painting/9  and.  was  published  by  J,  C.  Fuesli* 
When  Cardinal  Albani  succeeded  to  the  place  of  librarian 
of  the  Vatican,  he  endeavoured  to  get  a  place  for  the  He* 
brew  language  for  Winkeiman,  who  refused  a  canonry 
because  he  would  not  take  the  tonsure.  The  elector  of 
Saxony  gave  him,  1761,  unsolicited,  the  place  of  coun- 
sellor Richter,  the  direction  of  the  royal  cabinet  of  medals 
and  antiquities  at  Dresden.  Upon  the  death  of  the  abb6 
Venuti,  1762,  he  was  appointed  president  of  the  anti- 
quities of  the  apostolic  chamber,  with  power  over  all  dip-r 
coveries  and  exportation*  of  antiquities  and  pictures.  This 
is  a  post  of  honour,  with  an  income  of  160  scudi  per  an* 
hum.  He  had  a  prospect  of  the  place  of  president  of  an- 
tiquities in  the  Vatican,  going  to  be  created  at  1 6  scud} 
per  month,  and  was  named  corresponding  member  of  the 
academy  of  inscriptions.  He  had  thoughts  of  publishing 
an  f  f  Essay  on  the  Depravation  of  Taste  in  the  Arts  and 
Scienpes."  The  king  of  Prussia  offered  him  by  Col.  Quia- 
tus  Icilius  the  place  of  librarian  and  director  of  his  cabinet 
pf  medals  and  antiquities,  void  by  the  death  of  M.  Gautier 
de  la  Croze,  with  a  handsome  appointment.  He  made  no 
scruple  of  accepting  the  offer ;  but,  when  it  came  to  the 
pope's  ears,  he  added  an  appointment  out  of  his  own  purse, 
and  kept  him  at  Romp.  In  April  1768  he  left  Borne  to  go 
with  M.  Cavaceppi  over  Germany  and  Switzerland.  When 
he  came  to  Vienna  he  was  so  pleased*  with  the  reception  he 
met  with  that  he  made  a  longer  stay  there  than  he  had 
intended.  But,  being  suddenly  seized  with  a  secret  unea- 
siness, and  extraordinary  desire  to  return  to  Rome,  he  set 
out  for  Italy,  putting  off  his.visits  to  his  friends  in  Get* 
many  to  a  future  opportunity.  It  was  the  will  of  Provi- 
dence, however,  that  this  opportunity  should  never  come, 
he  being  assassinated  in  June  of  that  year,  by  one  Arcan- 
geli,  of  whom,  and  of  his  crime,  the  following  narrative 
was  published : 


W1NKELMAN.  201 

"  Francis  Arcangeli  was  born  of  mean  parents*  near  the 
city  of  Pistoia,  and  bred  a  cook,  in  which  capacity  he  served 
in  a  respectable  family  at  Vienna,  where,  having  been 
guilty  of  a  considerable  robbery,  he  was  condemned  to 
work  in  fetters  for  four  years,  and  then  to  be  banished 
from  all  the  Austrian  dominions,  after  being  sworn  never  to 
return.    When  three  years  of  his  slavery  were  expired,  he 
found  friends  to  intercede  in  his  favour,  and  he  was  released 
from  serving  the  fourth,  but  strictly  enjoined  to  observe 
the  order  of  banishment ;  in  consequence  of  which  he  left 
Vienna,  and  retired  to  Venice  with  bis  pretended  wife, 
Eva  Rachel.     In  August  1767,  notwithstanding  his  oath, 
be  came  to  Trieste  with  a  view  to  settle  ;  but  afterwards 
phanged  his  mind,  and  returned  to  Venice,  where,  being 
disappointed  of  the  encouragement  be  probably  expected, 
be  came  again  to  Trieste  in  May  1768.     Being  almost  de- 
stitute of  money,  and  but  shabbily  dressed,  he  took  up  his 
lodging  at  a  noted  inn  (probably  with  a  view  of  robbing 
some  traveller).     In  a  few  days  the  abb£  Winkelman  ar- 
rived at  the  same  inn  in  his  way  from  Vienna  to  Rome,  and 
lyas  lodged  in  the  next  apartment  to  that  of  Arcangeli. 
This  circumstance,  and  their  dining  together  at  the  or- 
dinary,   first  brought   them   acquainted.    .The  abb6   ex- 
pressed a  desire  of  prosecuting  bis  journey  with  all  possible 
expedition,  and  Arcangeli  was  seemingly  very  assiduofis 
in  procuring  him  a  passage,  which  the  abb£  took  very 
kindly 9  and  very  liberally  rewarded  him  for  his  services. 
0is  departure,  however,  being  delayed  by  the  master  of 
the  vessel  which  was  to  carry  him,  Arcangeli  was  more 
than  ordinarily  diligent  in  improving  every  opportunity  of 
making  himself  acceptable  to  the  abb£,  and  their  frequent 
walks,  long  and  familiar  conversations,  and  the  excessive 
civility  and  attention  of  Arcangeli  upon  all  occasions  that 
offered,  so  improved  the  regard  which  the  abb£  bad  begun 
to  conceive  for  him,  that  he  not  only  acquainted  him  in 
the  general  run  of  their  discourse  with  the  motives  and  the 
event  of  bis  journey  to  Vienna,  the  graces  he  had  there 
received,  and  the  offers  of  that  ministry ;  but  informed 
hitn  also  of  the  letters  of  credit  be  had  with  him,  the  me- 
dals of  gold  and  silver  which  he  bad  received  from  their 
imperial  majesties,  anti,  in  short,  with  all  the  things  of 
value  of  which  he  was  possessed. 

"  Arcangeli  expressed  an  earnest  desire  to  see  the  me- 
dals, and  the  abh6  an  e^uat  eagerness  to  gratify  his  cu* 


f02  WINKELMAN.     ' 

riosity ;  but  the  villain  no  sooner  bebeld  the  fatal  coins, 
than-  yielding  to  the  motions  of  his  depraved  heart,  he  d£» 
termioed  treacherously  to  murder  and  rob  the  possessor. 
Several  days,  however,  elapsed  before  he  put  bis  cruel 
design  into  execution,  in  which  time  he  so  officiously  and 
courteously  conformed  himself  to  the  temper  and  situation 
of  his  new  friend,  that  he  totally  disarmed  the  abb£  of  all 
mistrust,  and  had  actually  inspired  him  with  a  sincere 
friendship. 

"  In  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  June,  being  determined 
no  longer  to  delay  his  bloody  purpose,  he  bought  a  sharp 
pointed  knife,  the  instrument  he  intended  to  use  in  the 
execution,  and  then  going  to  the  coffee-house,  be  there 
found  the  abbe*,  who  paid  for  him  as  usual,  and  continued 
with  him  in  conversation  till  they  both  went  home  to  din* 
ner.     After  dinner  they  went  again  abroad  together:  but 
the  villain  having  meditated  a  new  scheme,  he  parted  from 
the  abbe*  and  went  and  purchased  some  yards  of  cord,  with 
which  he  returned  home  and  retired  to  his  chamber.     Till 
the  abbe  came  home,  he  t  mployed  himself  in  twisting  the 
cord  and   forming  a  noose  ;  and  having  prepared  it  to  his 
mind,  he  placed  that  and  the  knife  in  a  chair,  ready.     Soon 
after  this  the  abb£  came  in,  and,  as  bis  custom  was,  invited 
Arcangeli  to  supper.     The  cheerfulness  of  the  abb£,  and 
the  frankness  and  cordiality  with  which  he  received  and 
treated  him,  staggered  him  at  first ;  and  the  sentiments  of 
humanity  so  far  took  place,  that  his  blood  ran  cold   with 
the  thoughts  of  his  cruel  intention,  nor  had  be  at  this  time 
courage  to  execute  it.     But  the  next  morning,  June,  the 
8th,  both  going  out  of  the  inn  together,  and  drinking  cof- 
fee at  the  usual  house,  after  Arcangeli  had  pretended  in 
vain  to  hire  a  vessel  to  carry  the  abbe*  to  Bagni,  they  re- 
tnrned  to  the  inn,  and  each  going  into  his  own  room,  Ar- 
cangeli pulled  off  his  coat  (probably  to  prevent  its  being 
stained  with  blood)  and  putting  the  knife  unsheathed,  and 
the  cord  into  his  waistcoat  pocket,  about  nine  he  went  into 
Winkelman's  chamber,  who  received   him  with  bis  accus- 
tomed frankness,  and  entered  into  chat  about  his  journey 
and  about  his  medals ;  and,  as  he  was  upon  the  point  of 
his  departure,  be  invited  the  man,  who  was  that  instant  to 
be  his  murderer,  in  the  most  affectionate  manner,  to  Rome, 
where  he  promised  him  his  best  assistance.     Full  of  those' 
friendly  sentiments,  the  abbe"  sat  himself  down  in  his  chair, 
when  instantly  the  assassin,  who  stood  behind  him,  threw 


WINKELMAN.  203 

Ac  cord  over  his  head  and  drew  it  close.  The  abbe*  with 
both  his  hands  endeavoured  to  loosen  the  cord,  but  the 
murderer  with  his  knife  already  unsheathed  stabbed  him  in 
several  places.  This  increased  the  struggle,  and  the  last 
efforts  of  the  unhappy  victim  brought  both  of  them  to  the 
ground  ;  the  murderer,  however,  was  uppermost,  and  hav- 
ing his  knife  still  reeking  with  blood  in  his  hand,  plunged 
it  five  times  into  the  bowels  of  his  wounded  friend.  The 
noise  of  the  fall,  and  the  groans  of  the  abbe*,  alarmed  the 
chamberlain  of  the  house,  who  hastily  opening  the  door, 
was  witness  to  the  bloody  conflict.  The  assassin,  surprised 
in  the  fact,  dropped  the  bloody  knife,  and  in  bis  waist- 
coat only,  without  a  hat,  his  breast  open,  and  his  shirt 
covered  with  blood,  he  escaped  out  of  the  inn. 

"  With  the  cord  about  bis  neck,  and  his  wounds  stream- 
ing, the  abbe*  had  still  strength  to.  rise,  and  descending 
from  the  second  floor  to  the  first,  he  placed  himself  against 
the  balustrade,  and  called  for  assistance.  Moved  with 
compassion,  those  who  heard  his  cries  hastened  to  his 
relief,  and  helping  him  to  his  room,  laid  him  upon  his 
bed,  where,  having  no  hope  of  recovery,  he  received  the 
sacraments,  and  made  his  will.  After  suffering  a  great 
deal  with  heroic  constancy,  and  truly  Christian  piety,  not 
complaining  of  his  murderer,  but  most  sincerely  pardon* 
ing  him,  he  calmly  breathed  his  last  about  four  in  the 
afternoon. 

,  "  In  the  mean  time  the  assassin  had  escaped  into  the 
Venetian  territories,  where,  not  thinking  himself  safe,  he 

'  pursued  his  way  to  Pirano,  with  a  design,  to  embark  in 
whatever  ship  was  ready  to  sail,  to  whatever  place;  but  ex- 
presses being  every  where  dispatched  with  an  account  of 
the  murder,  and  a  description  of  the  murderer,  he  found 
himself  surrounded  with  dangers  ou  all  sides.  Having 
found  means,  however,  to  change  his  cloaths,  he  quitted 
the  high  road,  and  passing  through  forests,  and  over  moun- 
tains unknown  to  him,  he  at  length  came  to  a  road  that  led 
to  Labiana,  and  had  already  reached  Planina,  when  a 
drummer,  mistaking  him  for  a  deserter,  caused  him  to  be 
apprehended.  ,  Upon  bis  examination,  not  being  able  to 
give  a  satisfactory  account  of  himself,  and  being  threatened 
by  the  magistrates  of  Aidesperg,  he  voluntarily  confessed 

'  the  murder,  apd  eight  days  after  committing,  the  fact,  was 
brought  back  to  Trieste,  heavily  ironed,  and  under  a  strong 
guard.     Here  he  was  tried,  and  being  found   guilty,  as: 


*04  WINKELMAN, 

well  on  bis  own  confession  as  on  the  clearest  evidence,  he 
was  sentenced  by  the  emperor's  judges  to  be  broken  on  the 
wheel  opposite  to  the  inn  where  he  had  perpetrated  the 
murder,  and  his  body  to  be  exposed  in  the  usual  place  of 
executions  On  the  18th  of  June  be  was  informed  of  his 
sentence,  and  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month  it  was  exe- 
cuted in  ail  its  points,  in  the  presence  of  an  innumerable 
multitude,  who  flocked  from  all  parts  to  see  the  execution." 

Some  of  Winkelman's  MSS.  got  to  Vienna,  where  the 
new  edition  of  his  u  History  of  Art"  was  presently  adver- 
tised. He  intended  to  have  got  this  work  translated  into 
French  at  Berlin,  by  M.  Toussaint,  that  it  might  be  printed 
under  his  own  inspection  at  Rome.  It  was  translated  by 
M.  Hubert,  so  well  known  in  the  republic  of  letters,  who 
has  since  published  it  in  3  vols.  4to,  with  head  and  tail- 
pieces from  designs  of  M.  Ogser.  An  Italian  translation 
of  it  by  a  literary  society  has  been  published  at  Milan. 

Abb£  Wiukelman  was  a  middle-sized  man ;  he  had  a 
very  low  fort- head,  sharp  nose,  and  little  black  hollow  eyes, 
which  gave  him  an  aspect  rather  gloomy  than  otherwise. 
If  he  had  any  thing  graceful  in  his  physiognomy,  it  was 
his  mouth,  yet  his  lips  were  too  prominent ;  but,  when  be 
was  animated,  and  in  good  humour,  his  features  formed  an 
ensemble  that Was  pleasing.  £  fiery  and  impetuous  dis- 
position often  threw  him  into  extremes.  Naturally  enthu- 
siastic, he  often  indulged  an  extravagant  imagination ; 
but,  as  he  possessed  a  strong  and  solid  judgment,  he 
knew  how  to  give  things  a  just  and  intrinsic  value.  In 
consequence  of  this  turn  of  mind,  as  well  as  a  neglected 
education,  a  cautious  reserve  was  a  quality  he  little  knew. 
If  he  was  bold  in  his  decisions  as  an  author,  he  was  still 
more  so  in  his  conversation,  and  has  often  made  his  friends 
tremble  for  his  temerity.  If  ever  man  knew  what  friend- 
ship was,  that  man  was  Mr.  Winkelman,  who  regularly 
practised  all  its  duties,  and  for  this  reason  he  could  boast 
of  having  friends  among  persons  of  every  rank  and  condi- 
tion. People  of  his  turn  of  thinking  and  acting  seldom  or 
ever  indulged  suspicions  :  the  abbess  fault  was  a  contrary 
extreme.  The  frankness  of  bis  temper  led  him  to  speak 
bis  sentiments  on  all  occasions ;  but,  being  too  much  ad- 
dicted to  that  species  of  study  which  he  so  assiduously  cul- 
tivated, he  was  not  always  on  his  guard  to  repress  the  sal- 
lies of  self-love.  His  picture  was  drawn  half  length,  sit- 
ting, by  a  German  lady  born  at  Kostnitz,  but  carried  when 


WINKELMAN.  2<M 

» 

young  inlo  Itaij  by  her  father,  who  was  a  painter.  She  - 
etched  it  in  a  4to  size,  and  another  artist  executed  it  in 
mezzotinto.  This  lady  was  Angelica  Kauffman.  The  por- 
trait is  preBxed  to  the  collection  of  his  letters  published  at 
Amsterdam,  1781,  2  vols.  12 mo.  Among  his  correspond- 
ents were  Mr.  Heyne,  Munchausen,  baron  Reidesel  (whose 
travels  into  Sicily,  translated  into  English  by  Dr.  Forster, 
1773,  8vo,  are  addressed  to  him,  and  inspired  him  with  an 
ardent  longing  to  go  over  that  ground),  count  Bunau,  C. 
Fuesli,  Gesner,  P.  Usteri,  Van  Mechlen,  the  duke  de 
Rochfoucauh,  lord  (alias  Mr.  Wortley)  Montague,  Mr. 
Wiell;  and  there  are  added  extracts  from  letters  to  M.  * 
Clerisseaux,  while  be  was  searching  after  antiquities  in  the 
South  of  France ;  a  list  of  the  principal  objects  in  Rome, 
1766,  &c;  and  an  abstract  of  a  letter  of  Fuesli  to  the 
German  translators  of  Webb  on  the  "  Beauties  of  Paint- 
tng."  ' 

W1NSLOW  (James  Benignus),  a  skilful  anatomist  who 
settled  in  France,  was  born  in  1669,  atOdensee,  in  Den- 
mark, where  his  father  was  minister  of  the  place,  and  in- 
tended him  for  his  own  profession,  but  he  preferred  that  of 
medicine,  which  he  studied  in  various  universities  in  Eu- 
rope. In  1698  he  was  at  Paris,  studying  under  the  cele- 
brated Duverney,  and  here  be  was  induced  by  the  writings 
of  Bossuet  to  renounce  the  protestant  religion,  a  change 
which,  it  is  rather  singular,  happened  to  his  grand- 
uncle  Stenonius  (See  Stenonius)  by  the  same  influence. 
He  now  settled  at  Paris,  was  elected  one  of  the  college 
of  physicians,  lecturer  at  the  royal  garden,  expounder  of 
the  Teutonic  language  at  the  royal  library,  and  member 
of  the  academy  of  sciences.  According  to  Haller,  who 
bad  been  his  pupil,  bis  genius  was  not  so  remarkable  as 
his  industry,  but  by  dint  of  assiduity  he  became  an  excel- 
lent anatomist ;  and  bis  system  t>f  anatomy,  or  "  Exposi- 
tion Anatomique,"  has  long  been  considered  as  a  work  of 
the  first  reputation  and  utility,  and  has  been  translated  into 
almost  ail  the  European  languages,  and  into  English  by 
Douglas,  1734,  2  vols.  4to.  He  was  also  the  author  of  a 
great  number  of  anatomical  dissertations,  some  of  which 
were  published  separately,  but  they  mostly  appeared  in 
the  Memoirs  of  the  French  academy.  He  died  in  1760, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one.* 

1  Prof.  Heyoe>s  Elage,  and  Letter*.— Gent.  Mag.  rots.  XXXVIII.  and  LIV. 
drawn  ttp  by  Mr.  Gougb.  *  Eloy,  Diet  Hist,  de  Medecioe.— Haller. 


206  WINSTANI.EY. 

WINSTANLEY  (William),  originally  a  barber,  was 
author  of  the  "  Lives  of  the  Poets ;"  of  "  Select  Lives  of 
England's  Worthies ;"  "  Historical  Rarities ;"  "  The  Loyal 
Marty rology ;"  and  some  single  lives  ;  all  in  8vo.  Granger 
says  he  is  a  fantastical  writer,  and  of  the  lowest  class  of 
biographers  :  but  we  are  obliged  to  him  for  many  notices 
of  persons  and  things,  which  are  mentioned  by  no  other 
writer,  which  must  account  for  his  "England's  Worthies'* 
being  a  book  still  in  request ;  and,  as  some  of  the  vampers 
think,  even  worthy  of  being  illustrated  by  prints.  It  is 
not,  however,  generally  known,  that  it  is  necessary  to  have 
both  editions  of  this  work;  those  of  1660  and  1684,  in 
order  to  possess  the  whole  of  his  biographical  labours; 
Winstanley,  who  could  trim  in  politics  as  well  as  trade, 
omitted  from  the  latter  all  the  republican  lives,  and  sub* 
stituted  others  in  their  room.  He  flourished  in  the  reigns 
of  Charles  I.  II.  and  James  II.  and  was  probably  alive  at 
the  publication  of  his  second  edition,  in  which  he  changed 
his  dedication,  adopting  new  patrons.  In  the  "  Censura 
Literaria,"  voh  V,  is  an  account  of  "The  Muses  Cabinet,'* 
1655,  12mo,  containing  his  original  poetry,  which  is 
called  in  the  title-page  "  both  pleasant  and  profitable;" 
but  now  we  are  afraid  will  not  be  thought  either.  He  was 
a  great  plagiary,  and  took  his  character  of  the  English 
poets  from  Phillips's  "  Theatrum,"  and  much  from  Fuller 
and  others,  without  any  acknowledgment. l 

WINSTON  (Thomas)  an  eminent  physician,  was  born 
in  1575,  and  educated  in  Clare-hall,  Cambridge,  of  which 
he  became  fellow.  He  took  the  degree  of  M.  A.  in  1602, 
and  then  visited  the  continent  for  improvement  in  the 
study  of  physic.  He  attended  the  lectures  of  Fabricius  ab 
Aquapendente  and  Prosper  Alpinus  at  Padua,  and  of  Cas- 
par Bauhine  at  Basil,  and  took  the  degree  of  doctor  at 
Padua.  He  returned  to  England,  graduated  again  at  Cam" 
bridge  in  1607,  and  settled  in  London;  and  in  1613  was 
admitted  a  candidate  of  the  college  of  physicians,  and  the 
next  year  was  made  fellow.  On  the  death  of  Dr.  Moun- 
sel,  professor  of  physic  in  Gresham-college,  he  was  chosen 
October  25,  1615,  to  succeed  him,  and  held  his  professor- 
ship till  1642 ;  when,  by  permission  of  t,he  House  of  Lords, 
he  went  over  to  France,  where  he  staid  about  ten  years, 
'  and  returned  when  the  troubles  were  over.     He  did  not 

1  Granger.—Ath.  Ox~  vol,  II.  &c. 


WINSTON..  201 

live  long  to  enjoy  a  well  acquired  fortune ;  for  be  died  Oc- 
tober 24,  1655,  aged  eighty.  He  published  nothing  in 
his  life-time ;  but  after  his  death,  his  "  Anatomical  Lec- 
tures9' were  printed  in  1659,  1664,  8vo,  and  were  sup- 
posed the  most  complete  then  in  the  English  language. l 

WINTERTON  (Ralph),  an  eminent  Greek  scholar, 
was  the  son  of  Francis  Winterton  of  Lutterworth  in  Leices- 
tershire, A.  M.  where  he  was  born.  That  he  was  an  ex- 
cellent Greek  scholar  appears  from  many  of  bis  produc- 
tions in  that  language,  which  entitled  him  to  be  a  com- 
petitor, though  an  unsuccessful  one,  in  1627,  for  the 
Greek  professorship  at  Cambridge,  on  the  death  of  Andrew 
Downes,  with  four  other  candidates,  who  alt  read  solemn 
lectures  in  the  schools  on  a  subject  appointed  them  by  the 
ejectors.  He  was  educated  at  Kiug's-college,  Cambridge, 
where  he  had  the  misfortune,  during  the  early  part  of  his 
residence,  to  be  somewhat  disordered  in  his  intellects; 
but,  recovering,  he  took  to  the  study  of  physic,  and  was 
allowed  to  excel  all  of  that  profession  in  bis  time.  In  1631 
he  published  the  first  book  of  Hippocrates' s  Aphorisms  in 
a  Greek  metrical  version  at  Cambridge,  in  quarto,  and  the 
year  following  the  whole 'seven  books  together,  in  the  same 
manner.  In  1633,  by  the  advice  of  Dr.  John  Collins,  re- 
gius  professor  of  physic,  he  published  an  edition  of  the 
Aphorisms  in  octavo  at  Cambridge,  with  Frere's  Latin  poe- 
tical translation,  and  his  own  Greek  version,  with  a  Latin 
prose  translation  by  John  Heurnus  of  Utrecht.  At  the 
end  is  annexed  a  small  book  of  epigrams  and  poems,  com- 
posed by  the  cbiefest  wits  of  both  universities,  but  chiefly 
of  Cambridge,  and  of  King's-college  in  particular.  In 
1631  he  printed,  in  octavo,  at  Cambridge,  a  translation  of 
"  Gerard's  Meditations,9'  which  went  through  six  editions 
in  about  nine  years.  In  4632  he  published  likewise  at 
Cambridge,  in  octavo,  Gerard's  "  Golden  Chain  of  Di- 
vine Aphorisms."  He  published  also,  for  the  use  of  Eton- 
school,  an  edition  of  "  Dionysius  de  situ  Orbis,"  with 
some  Greek  verses  at  tbe  end  of  it,  addressed  to  the  scho- 
lars, and  exhorting  them  to  tbe  study  of  geography.  This 
was  reprinted  at  London  in  1668,  l2mo.  In  the  above 
year  (1632),  he  translated  "  Drexelius  on  Eternity,"  which 
was  printed  at  Cambridge.  In  the  preface  to  this,  he  has 
some  sentiments  which,  shew  that  he  was  of  a  pious  but 

1  Ward**  Lire*  of  {lie  Greiham  Profeuor*. 


20S  WINTERTON. 

somewhat  singular  turn  of  mind.  In  1634,  being  M.  D. 
be  was  nominated  by  the  king  his  professor  of  physic  for 
forty  years,  if  he  should  live  so  long.  The  year  following 
he  published  at  Cambridge  in  octavo  an  edition  of  the 
"  Minor  Greek  Poets/9  with  observations  upon  Hesiod. 
This  has  passed  through  many  editions.  His  advancement 
to  the  professorship  appears  to  have  interrupted  his  em* 
ployment  as  an  author ;  but  he  did  not  survive  that  honour 
long,  dying  in  the  prime  of  life  Sept.  13,  1636.  He  was 
buried  at  the  east  end  of  King's- college  chapel,  but  with- 
out any  memorial.  After  bis  death  was  published  a  trans- 
lation by  him  of  Jerome  Zanchius's  "  Whole  Duty  of  the 
Christian  Religion/9  Lond.  1659,  12 mo.  He  appears  to 
have  contributed  his  assistance  in  the  publication  of  many 
Jearned  works,  which  have  escaped  our  research.  His 
character  was  that  of  an  industrious  and  judicious  scholar, 
an  able  physician,  and  a  just  and  upright  man. l 

WINTLE  (Thomas),  a  learned  divine,  of  whom  our 
memorial  is  but  scanty,  was  born  at  Gloucester  28th  April 
1737.  He  was  educated  chiefly  in  his  native  city,  and 
distinguished  by  his  thirst  after  knowledge,  and  his  diligent 
application  to  school-exercises.  Obtaining  an  exhibition 
at  Pembroke-college,  Oxford,  he  there  became  scholar, 
-fellow,  and  tutor,  taking  his  degree  of  M.  A.  in  1759.  In 
1767,  archbishop  Seeker  made  him  rector  of  Wittrisham 
in  Kent,  and  called  him  to  be  one  of  his  domestic  chap- 
lains ;  and  the  following  year  he  went  to  Oxford,  and  took 
his  degree  of  bachelor  of  divinity.  After  the  death  of  his 
grace,  in  the  following  year,  he  resided  at  Wittrisham,  or 
on  the  small  living  of  St.  Peter,  in  Wallingford  ;  until,  in 
1774,  relinquishing  these  preferments,  he  was  presented, 
by  the  late  bishop  of  Winchester,  to  the  rectory  of  Bright- 
well,  Berks.  At  Brightwell  he  lived  constantly  forty  years, 
and  at  Brightwell  he  died,  July  29,  1814,  leaving  a  wi- 
dow, two  sons,  and  one  grand -daughter.  In  early  life 
Mr.  Wintle  was  unremitting  in  the  attainment  of  useful 
learning,  and  in  the  practice  of  religion  and  virtue ;  and 
in  his  more  mature  and  later  years  he  ceased  not,  by  pre-  * 
cept  and  example,  to  set  forth  the  expediency  and  advan- 
tages of  religion,  while  his  fame  in  the  literary  world  was 
not  inconsiderable.  He  published,  1st,  "An  improved 
Version  of  Daniel  attempted,  with  a  Preliminary  Disserta- 

>  Cole's  MS  Collectanea,  in  Brit.  Mirs.  vol.  XV. 


-     >  W  t  N  T  L  E.    -      ■-*  200 

i|oD,  and  Notes  critical,  historical,  and  explanatory/*    2t 
cf  A  Dissertation  on  the  Vision  contained  in  the  second, 
chapter  of  Zechariah."     3.  "  Eight  Sermons  on  the  Ex~, 
pediency,  Prediction,  and  Accomplishment,  of  the  Chris-; 
tjan  Redemption,  preached  at  the  Bampton  Lecture.*9     4. 
"  Christian  Ethics,  or  Discourses  on  the  Beatitudes,  with 
some  preliminary  and  subsequent  Discourses ;  the  whole 
designed  to  explain,  recommend,  or  enforce,  the  Duties 
of  the  Christian  Life."     5.  "  A  Letter  to  the  Lord  Bishop 
of  Worcester,  occasioned  by  his  Strictures  on  Archbishop, 
Seeker  and  Bishop  Loivth,  in  his  Life  of  Bishop  Warbur- 
tpn."     The  two  first  of  these  publications  will  class  Mr. 
\Vintle  with  the  most  distinguished  Biblical  scholars,  and 
tfce  Bampton  Lectures  and  Christian  Ethics  are  not  less 
valuable,  as  illustrations  of  the  Christian  system. ' 
„  WINTON.     See  WYNTON. 

WINTRINGHAM  (Clifton),  an  eminent  physician, 
Was  the  son  of  Dr.  Clifton  Wintringham,  also  a  physician, 
who  died  at  York,  March  12,  1748,  and  yvas  an  author  of 
reputation,  but  rather  of  the  mechanical  school,  as  appears 
\ff  his  first  publication,  "Tractatus  de  Podagra,  in  quo  de 
ultimis  vasis  et  liquidis  et  succo  nutritio  tractatur,"  York, 
1714,  8vo.  In  this  he  assigns,  as  the  causes  of  the  gout,  a 
certain  acrimonious  viscosity  in  the  nervous  fluid,  the  rigi- 
dity  of  the  fibres,  and  a  straitness  in  the  diameter  of  the 
vessels  that  are  near  the  joints.  His  second  publication 
was  entitled  *?  A  Treatise  of  endemic  diseases,"  ibid.  1718, 
8vo,  which  was  followed  by  his  most  important  publication, 
"Commentarium  nosolftgicum  morbos  epidemicos  et  aeris 
yariationes  in  urbe  Eboracensi,  locisque  vicinis,  ab  anno 
1715  ad  anni  1725  fin  em  grassantes  complectens,"  Lond. 
1727,  1733,  8vo.  This  last  edition  was  edited  by  his  son. 
He  published  also  "An  experimental  inquiry  on  some  parts 
of  the  animal  structure,"  ibid.  1^40,  8vo,  and  "An  inquiry 
jnto  the  exility  of  the  vessels  of  a  human  body,"  ibid. 
J  743,  8vo. 

His  son,  the  more  immediate  subject  of  this  brief  notice, 
was  born  in  1710,  and  educated  at  Trinity  college,  Cam- 
bridge, where  be  took  his  degree  of  bachelor  of  medicine 
Vi  U34,  and  that  of  doctor  in  1749.  During  the  interval 
it  is  not  improbable  that  he  studied  the  art  at  Leyden,  as 
jyas  usual  at  that  time.     He  settled  however  at  Londoi), 

i  Gent,  Mag.  vol.  LXXXIV.. 

Vol.  XXXII.  P 


219 


WlNfitlNGHAM. 


•  r 

where  he  became  a  fellow  of  the  college  of  physicians,  atrd 
in  1742  of  the  Royal  Society,  in  1759  physician  extraor- 
dinary, and  afterwards  physiciau  general  to  the  army.  In 
1749  he  had  been  appointed  chief  physician  to  the  duke 
of  Cumberland,  and  in  1762  was  nominated  physician  to 
his  present  majesty,  and  received  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood. He  attained  considerable  practice  during  a  very 
long  life,  and  was  much  respected  both  for  his  private  and 
public  character.  He  diedf  at  Hammersmith,  after  a  linger- 
ing illness,  Jan.  9, 1794,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four.  In  1774 
he  had  been  created  a  baronet,  with  remainder  to  Jarvis 
Clifton,  esq.  second  son  of  sir  Jarvis  Clifton,  bait,  of  Clif- 
ton, Nottinghamshire,  who  however  died  before  him,  and 
the  title  became  extinct.  By  his  will,  sir  Clifton  left  to 
Trinity  college,  where  he  had  been  educated,  a  small  mar- 
ble image  of  Esculapius  found  near  Rome,  which  was  ac- 
cordingly deposited  there  by  his  widow. 

Sir  Clifton  published  an  edition,  with  annotations,  of 
Mead's  "  Mouita  et  precepta  medica,"  and  an  edition  of 
his  father's  works,  1752,  2  vols.  8vo.  The  only  production 
from  his  own  pen  was  entitled  u  De  morbis  qtiibusdam 
commentarii,"  1782  and  1790,  2  vols.  * 

WINWOOD   (Sir  Ralph),  secretary. of  state  in   the 
reign  of  Jambs  I.  was  son  of  Mr.  Lewis  Winwood,  some 
time  secretary  to  Charles  Brandon,  duke  of  Suffolk ;  and 
wa§  born  about  1 565,  at  Aynho,  in  Northamptonshire.     He 
was  at  first  sent  to  St.  John's  college,  Oxford,  whence  he 
was  elected  a  probationer-fellow  of  Magdalen  college  in 
1582.     He  took  both  the  degrees  in  arts,  ami  that  of  ba- 
chelor of  law;  and  in  1692,  was  proctor  of  the  university* 
Afterwards  he  travelled  on  the  continent,  and  returned  a 
very  accomplished  gentleman.     In  1599,  he  attended  sir 
Henry  Neville,  ambassador  to  France,  as  his  secretary; 
and,  in  the  absence  of  sir  Henry,  was  appointed  resident 
at  Paris :  whence  he  was  recalled  in  1602*3,  and  sent  that 
year  to  the  States,  of  Hollaud  by  James  I.     In  1607,  he  was 
knighted ;  and  the  same  year  appointed  ambassador  jointly 
with  sir  Richard  Spencer  to  Holland.     He  was  sent  there 
again  in  1609,  when  he  delivered  the  remonstrance  of 
James  I.  against  Vorstius  (See  Vorstius)   the  Arminian, 
to  the  assembly  of  the  States,  to  which  they  seemed  to  pay 
very  little  attention.     Upon  this  the  king  proceeded  to> 

*  Eloy,  Die*.  Hist,  dc  Medccin*.~-Ni«hoU'»  Bowjer. 


W  I  N  W  O  O  D.  til 

threaten  them  with  his  pen ;  and  plainly  told  them,  that 
if  they  had  the  hardiness  to  "  fetch  again  from  hell  anqient 
heresies  long  since  dead,  &c.  he  should  be  constrained  to 
proceed  publicly  against  them."  It  is  certain  that  his  ma- 
jesty wrote  a  pamphlet  against  Conr.  Vorstius,  which  was 
printed  in  1611. 

In  1614,  Win  wood  was  made  secretary  of  state;  in  which 
toffice  he  continued  till  bis  death,  which  happened  Oct.  27> 
1617.  He  was  interred  in  the  parish  church  of  St  Bartho- 
lomew the  Less,  London.  Lloyd  tells  us,  that  "be  was  a 
gentleman  well  seen  in  most  affairs!  but  most  expert  in 
matters  of  trade  and  war."  But  although  others  acknow- 
ledge his  abilities  and  integrity,  they  add  that  he  was  not 
sufficiently  polished  as  a  courtier,  as  there  was  something 
harsh  and  supercilious  in  his  demeanour*  He  left  a  son 
named  Richard,  afterwards  of  Ditton  Park  in  Bucks,  who 
dying  without  issue  in  1688,  his  estate  went  to  a  son  of 
Edward  earl  of  Montague,  who  had  married  his  sister.  In 
1725,  were  published  at  London,  in  3  vols,  folio,  "Me- 
morials of  Affairs  of -State  in  the  Reigns  of  queen  Eliza- 
beth and  king  James  I.  collected  chiefly  from  the  original 
papers  of  the  right  honourable  sir  Ralph  Winwood,  knight, 
some  time  one  of  the  principal  secretaries  of  state.  Com- 
prehending likewise  the  negotiations  of  sir  Henry  Neville, 
sir  Charles  Cornwallis,  sir  Dudley  Carlton,  sir  Thomas  Ed- 
monds, Mr.  Trumble,  Mr.  Cottington,  and  others,  at  the 
courts  of  France  and  Spain,  and  in  Holland,  Venice,  &c. 
wherein  the  principal  transactions  of  those  times  are  faith- 
fully related,  and  the  policies  and  the  intrigues  of  those 
courts  at  large  discovered.  The  whole  digested  in  an  ex- 
act series  of  time.  To  which  are  added  two  tables,  one  of 
the  letters,  the  other  of  the  principal  matters.  By  Ed- 
mund Sawyer,  esq/'  then  one  of  the  masters  in  chancery.  \ 

WIRLEY.     See  WYRLEY. 

WIRZ  (John),  an  artist,  whom,  Fuseli  says,  situation, 
temper,  and  perhaps  circumstances,  have  deprived  of  the 
celebrity  he  deserved,  was  a  native  of  Zuric,  born  in  1640, 
the  son  of  a  canon,  and  professor  of  divinity  in  its  college, 
and  appears  to  have  bad  a  liberal  education.  Though, 
when  a  youth,  he  lost  one  eye,  he  was  bound  to  Conrad 
Meyer,  of  whom,  with  the  elements  of  painting,  he  ac- 

*  Gen.  Diet.—  Biog.  Brit.  Supplement— Lloyd'*  State  Worthies  .*—Ath.  0* 
vol.  I. — Granger. 

,T2 


* 

Quired  the  mystery  of  etching.  As  a  painter  he  devoted 
himself  to-  portraiture,  which  he  exercised  with  success, 
•and  in  a  style  little  inferior  and  sometimes  equal  to  that  of 
S.  Hofmann  ;  but  the  imitation  of  dormant  or  insipid  counv 
tenances,  unable  ta  fill  a  mind  so  active  and  open  to  im- 
pression, in  time  gave  way  to  composition  in  art  and  writ? 
ing,  both  indeed  devoted  to  the  most  bigoted  superstition, 
and  theologic  rancour,  for  in  his  Dialogues  on  the  Apoca^ 
lypsis  of  S.  John,  blind  zeal,  legendary  falsehood,  and  bar-* 
•bar ism  of  style,  go  hand  in  hand  with  shrewdness  of  obser- 
vation, controversial  acuteness,  and  blunt  naiveti :  a  hete- 
rogeneous mass,  embellished  by  an  etched  series  of  poetic 
and  historic  subjects,  in  compositions  dictated  by  the  most 
'.picturesque  fancy,  original,  magnificent,  varioas,  romantic, 
terrible,  and  fantastic ;  though  in  small,  on  a  scale  of  ar* 
Tangement  and  combinations  to  fill  the  pompous  scenery  of 
Paolo,  or  challenge  the  wildest  caprice  of  Salvator;  and  in 
the  conception  of  the  Last  Judgment,  for  sublimity  far  su- 
perior to  Michael  Agnolo.  With  these  prerogatives,  and 
♦neither  insensible  to  beauty  nor  form,  the  artist  is  often 
guilty  of  ludicrous,  nay,  even  premeditated  incorrectness* 
and  contortions  which  defy  possibility.  His  style  of  etch- 
ing, free,  spirited,  and  yet  regular,  resembles  that  of  Wil- 
<helm  Baur;  and  though  no  vestiges  remain  of  his  having; 
seen  Italy,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  by  what  other  mean* 
•he  could  acquire  that  air  of  Italian  scenery,  and  that  mi- 
nute acquaintance  with  the  architecture,  the  costume,  and 
ceremonies,  of  that  country,  without  baviog  visited  k  him- 
self. His  dialogues,  above  mentioned,  were  published  irr 
1677,  8vo,  entitled  UJ.  Wirzii  Romae  animate  exemplumr 
&c."  with  42  plates.  Wirz  resided  and  died  in  1709,  at 
a  small  villa  which  he  possessed  near  Zuric.  ! 

WISE  (Francis),  a  learned  antiquary,  and  Radcliffe  li- 
brarian at  Oxford,  was  born  in  the   house  of  his  father 
•Francis  Wise,  a  mercer  at  Oxford,  June  3,  1695.     He  re- 
ceived the  first  part  of  his  education  in  New  college  school, 
.under  the  care  of  Mr.  James  Badger,  a  man  very  eminent 
-as  a  schoolmaster.     In  January  1710-11  he  was  admitted 
♦a  member  of  Trinity  college,  and  in  the  summer  following 
•was  elected  scholar  of  that  house.     He  took  the  degree  of 
*M.  A.  in  1717,  and   about  this  period  was  employed  by 
Mr.  Hudson,  as  an  underkeeper  or  assistant  in  the  Bodleian 

l  PiJkingtoo  by  Puieli. 


Wi  s  e.  ®n 

library,  ari  admirable  school  for  Mr.  Wise,  whb  bad  a  tura 
for  literary  history  and  antiquities.     In  1718  he  became 
probationer,  and  in  the  following  year  actual  fellow  of  his 
college.     In  1722  he  published  "  Asser  Menevensis  de  re~ 
bus  gestis  Alfredi  magni,"  8vo,  very  elegantly  printed,  and 
with  suitable  engravings,  &c.     The  year  preceding  this, 
(1721)  the  hon.  Francis  North,  afterwards  earl  of  Guild* 
ford,  entered  of  Trinity  college  under  the  tuition  of  Mr. 
•Wise,  for  whom  be  entertained  a  great  esteem  through 
life.     From  this  nobleman  he  received  the  living  of  Elles- 
-field  near  Oxford,  a  very  small  piece  of  preferment,  and 
not' worth  above  25/.  a  year  at  most,  but  peculiarly  agree- 
able to  our  author,  who  contrived  to  make  it  a  place  of 
some  importance  to  curious  visitors.  /   He   took  a  small 
estate  there,  on  a  long  lease,  under  lord  Guildford,  and 
converted  a  cottage  upon  it  into  an  agreeable  retirement, 
by  building  one  or  two  good  rooms,  and  laying  out  a  gar- 
den with  a  piece  of  ground  adjoining,  scarcely  before  of 
any  use,  in  a  very  whimsical  but  pleasing  manner.     In  this 
little  spot  of  a  few  acres,  his*  visitors  were  surprised  to 
meet  with  ponds,  cascades,  seats,  a  triumphal  arch,  the 
tower  of  Babel,  a  Druid  temple,  and  an  Egyptian  pyramid. 
These  buildings,   which  were  designed   to  resemble  the 
structures  of  antiquity,  were  erected  in  exact  scale  anfl 
measure,  to  give,  as  far  as  miniature  would  permit,  a  just 
idea  of  the  edifice  they  were  intended  to  represent.     From 
the  time  that  his  illustrious  pupil  left  Oxford,  Mr. Wise  con- 
stantly resided  in  his  family  at  intervals,  and  divided  his 
time  between  the  seat  of  the  Muses,  and  the  elegant  man- 
sion of  his  friend   and  patron.     In  1726  he  was  elected 
custos  archivorum;   and  in  1727  took  his  degree  of  ba- 
chelor of  divinity. 

In  1738,  Mr.  Wise  published  a  Letter  to  Dr.  Mead  con- 
cerning some  antiquities  ia  Berkshire,  particularly  showing 
that  the  White  Horse  was  a  Saxon  monument,  4to.  This, 
pamphlet  was  answered  by  an  anonymous  person  (supposed 
to  be  one  Asplin,  vicar  of  Banbury)  who  in  his  pamphlet, 
-entitled  "The  Impertinence  and  Imposture  of  Modern 
Antiquaries  displayed,'9  insinuated  a  suspicion  that  Mr. 
Wise  was  no  friend  to  the  family  on  the  throne.  This. in- 
sinuation gave  Mr.  Wise  great  uneasiness,  as  he  then  had 
in  view  some  preferment  from  the  officers  of  state  (the 
.place  of  Radcliffe  Librarian).  He  therefore  drew  up  in 
1742,  another  ireatise,  called  "Farther  Observations  upon) 


tU  WISE. 

the  White  Horse,  &c."  and  was  vindicated  also  both  in  his 
.  political  principles  and  antiquarian  conjectures  by  a  friend 
(the  Rev.  Mr.  North,  F.S.A.)  who  then  concealed  his  name* 
-  (See  North,  George). 

In  1745,  he  was  presented  by  Trinity  college  to  the  rec- 
4ory  of  Rotherfield  Greys,  in  the  county  and  diocese  of  Ox-* 
ford;  and  on  May  10,  1748,  he  was  appointed  Radcliffe 
librarian.  In  1750,  he  published  his  "  Catalogue  of  the 
Coins  in  the  Bodleian  library,"  folio,  which  be  hacj  de- 
signed, and  taken  subscriptions  for,  above  twenty  years 
before,  but  through  the  smallness  of  bis  income  he  was  un- 
able to  bear  the  expense  of  engravings,  &c.  This  work  be 
dedicated  to  his  friend  and  patron  the  earl  of  Guildford, 
and  in  it  has  given  some  views  of  his  house  and  gardens  at 
Ellesfi'eld.  After  this  period  he  resided  chiefly  in  this 
pleasing  retreat,  and  pursued  his  researches  into  antiquity. 
In  1758,  he  printed  in  4to,  "Some  Enquiries  concerning 
the  first  inhabitants,  learning,  and  letters  of  Europe,  by  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  London;99  and  in 
1764,  another  work  in  4to,  entitled  "  History  and  Chrono- 
logy of  Fabulous  Ages  considered"  No  name  is  prefixed 
to  these  performances,  but  at  the  end  of  each  we  have  the 
initials  F.  W.  R.  L.  (Francis'  Wise,  Radcliffe  librarian). 
These  were  his  last  publications.  He  was  after  this  period 
much  afflicted  with  the  gout,  and  lived  quite  retired  at 
Ellesfield  till  his  death,  which  happened  Oct.  6,  1767.  He 
was  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  that  place,  and  by  his  own 
direction,  no  stone  or  monument  perpetuates  bis  memory. 
In  his  life-time  he  bad  been  a  benefactor  to  the  Bodleian 
library  by  supplying  from  his  own  collections  many  de- 
ficiencies in  the  series  of  their  coins  ;  and  after  bis  death, 
his  surviving  sister,  who  resided  At  Oxford,  and  was  his 
executrix,  generously  gave  a  large  and  valuable  cahinet  of 
his  medals,  &c.  to  the  Radcliffe  library.1 

WISHART  (George),  one  of  the  first  martyrs  for  the 
protestant  religion  in  Scotland,  and  a  person  of  great  dis- 
tinction in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  that  country,  was 
born  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  appears 
to  have  very  early  felt  the  consequences  of  imbibing  the 
spirit  of  the  reformers.  He  was  descended  of  the  house  of 
Pitarrow  in  the  Mearns,  an  illustrious  family  in  Scotland, 

1  Memoirs  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Huddesfovd  of  Trinity  college,  for  Dr.  Ducarel, 
and  transcribed  from  the  Doctor's  MS  Collections,  vol.  K.  now  in  the  possession 
•f  our  obliging  friend  John  Nichols,  esq.    See  also  his  Literary  Anecdote*. 


W  I  S  H  A  R  T.  SU 

snd  is  said  to  have  travelled  into  Germany,  where  be  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  opinions  of  Lutber.  Other  ac- 
counts mention  his  having  been  banished  from  his  own 
country  by  the  bishop  of  Brechin,  for  teaching  the  Greek 
Testament  in  the  town  of  Montrose,  and  that  after  this  he 
resided  for  some  years  in  the  university  of  Cambridge.  Of 
this  latter  circumstance  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  for 
besides  an  account  of  him  while  there  by  one  of  his  pupils, 
printed  by  Fox,  the  historian  of  Bene't  or  Corpus, Christi 
college  has  inserted  a  short  account  of  him,  as  one  of  the 
members  of  that  house.  In  1544,  be  returned  to  his  native 
country,  in  the  company  of  the  commissioners  who  had 
been  sent  to  negOciate  a  treaty  with  Henry  VIIL  of  Eng- 
land. At  this  time  he  was  allowed  to  excel  all  his  country- 
men in  learning,  and  to  be  a  man  of  the  most  persuasive  - 
eloquence,  irreproachable  in.  life,  courteous  and  affable  in 
manners.  His  fervent  piety,  zeal,  and  courage,  in  the 
cause  of  truth,  were  tempered  with  uncommon  meekness, 
modesty,  patience,  prudence,  and  charity.  With  these 
qualifications  he  began  to  preach  in  a  very  bold  manner, 
against  the  corruptions  of  the  Romish  church,  and  the  vices 
of  the  clergy.  He  met  with  a  most  favourable  reception 
wherever  he  appeared,  and  was  much  followed  and  eagerly 
listened  to,  which  90  excited  the  indignation  of  cardinal 
Beaton,  and  the  popish  clergy  in  general,  that  a  resolution 
was  formed  to  take  away  his  life  by  some  means  or  other* 

Two  attempts  were  made  to  cut  him  off  by  assassination ; 
but  be  defeated  the  first  by  his  courage,  and  the  second, 
by  his  caution.  On  the  first  of  these  attempts  he  behaved 
with. great  generosity.  A  friar  named  Weighton,  who  had 
undertaken  to  kill  him  when  he  was  in  Dundee  {where  he 
principally  preached),  knowing  that  it  was  his  custom  to 
remain  in  the  pulpit  after  sermon,  till  the  church  was 
empty,  skulked  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairs  with  a  dagger  in 
his  right  hand  under  his  gown.  Wishart  (who  was  remark- 
ably quick-sighted),  as  he  came  down  from  the  pulpit,  ob- 
serving the  friar's  countenance,  and  his  hand  with  some- 
thing in  it  under  his  gown,  suspected  his  design,  sprung 
forward,  seized  his  hand,  and  wrenched  the  dagger  from 
him.  At  the  noise  which  this  scuffle  occasioned,  a  crowd 
of  people  rushed  into  the  church,  and  would  have  torn  the 
friar  in  pieces ;  but  Mr.  Wishart  clasped  him  in  his  arms,  and 
declared  that  none  should  touch  him  but  through  his  body. 
"He hath  done  me  no  hurt,"  said  he9  "my  friends;  be 


fcath  doae  me  much  good  ;  he  hath  taught  me  what  I  have 
to  fear,  and  put  me  upon  my  guard."  And  it  appeared 
that  he  defeated  the  second  attempt  on  his  life  by  the  sus- 

•  piciorr  which  the  first  bad  inspired.     When  he  was  at  Morj- 

•  trose*  a  messenger  came  to  him  with  a  letter  From  a  country 
'•gentleman,  acquainting  him  that  he  had  been  suddenly 
''  taken  ill,  and  earnestly  intreating  him  to  come  to  him  with- 

♦  out  delay.  He  immediately  set  out,  accompanied  by  two 
* or  three  friends,  but  \vhen  they  were  about  half  a  mile  from 
'  the  town,  he  stopped,  saying,  "  I  suspect  there  is  treason 
'  in  this  matter.     Go  you  (said  he  to  one  of  his  friends)  up 

yonder,  and  tell  me  what  you  observe.'*  He  came  back 
arid  told  "him,  that  he  had  seen  u  company  of  spearmen 
lying  in  ambush  near  the  road.    They  then  returned  to  the 

'town,  mrid  on  the  way  he  said  to  bis  friends;  "I  know  I 
shall  one  day  fail  by  the  hands  of  that  blood-thirsty  man 

'  (meaning  cardinal  Beaton),  but  I  trust  it  shall  not  be  in 
this  manner.** 

These  two  plots  having  miscarried,  and  Wishart  still  con- 
tinuing to  preach  with  his  usual  boldness  and  success,  the 
cardinal  summoned  a  synod  of  the  clergy  to  meet  Jan.  1 1, 
1546,  in  the  Blackfrtars  church,  Edinburgh,  and  to  con- 
sider of  means  for  putting  a  stop  to  the  progress  of  heresy, 
and  while  thus  employed,  he  heard  that  Wishart  was  in  the 

J  house  of  Ormiston,  only  about  eight  miles  from  Edinburgh, 
where  he  was  seized  by  treachery,  and  conducted  to  the 
castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  soon  after  to  the  castle  of  St.  An- 
drew's. Here,  being  completely  in  the  hands  of  the  car- 
dinal, he  was  put  upon  his  trial  March  1,  before  a  convo- 
cation of  the  prelates  and  clergy  assembled  for  that  purpose 

'  in  the  cathedral,  and  treated  with  the  utmost  barbarity, 

'tevery  form  of  law,  justice,  or  decency,  being  dispensed 
with.     He  endeavoured  to  answer' the  accusations  brought 

'against  him,  and  to  shew  the  conformity  between  the  doc- 

*  trines  he  had  preached  and  the  word  of  God ;  but  this  was 
denied  him,  and  he  was  condemned  to  be  burnt  as  an  ob- 
stinate heretic,  which  sentence  was  executed  next  day  on 
the  castle  green.     The  cardinal  seems  to  have  been  sensi- 

-  ble  that  the  minds  of  men  would  be  much  agitated  by  the 

;  fate  of  this  amiable  sufferer,  and  even  to  have  apprehended 

that  some  attempt  might  be  made  to  rescue  him  from  the 

•  flames.     He  commanded  all  the  artillery  of  the  castle  to  be 

*  pointed  towards  the  scene  of  execution ;  and,  either  to 
;  fratch  the  ebullitions  of  popular  indignation,  to  display  bl& 


'W  "*  *  tt 'A  R -*.  2*7 

Contempt  of  the  reformers,  or  to  satiate  himself  by  contetri- 
p luting  the  destruction  of  a  man,  in  whose  grave  he  hoped 
that  their  principles  would  be  baried,  he  openly,  with  the 
prelates  who  accompanied  him,  witnessed  the  melancholy 
spectacle.     In  many  accounts  which  we  hare  of  Wishartfs 
*  death,- it  k  mentioned  that,  looking  towards  the  cardinal, 
-  he  predicted,  "  that  he  who,  from  yonder  place  (pointing 
to  the  tower  where  he  sat),  beholdeth  us  with  such  pride, 
shall,  within  a  few  days,  lie  in  the  same  as  ignominiously 
as  now  he  is  seen  proudly  to  rest.'9    In  our  account  of  Bea- 
ton we  have  noticed  the  evidence  for  this  fact,  and  the 
opinion  of  historians  upon  it,  to  which  may  now  be  added 
the  opinions  of  some  able  writers  (noticed  in  our  references) 
■  who  have  appeared  since  that  article  was  drawn  up.     Con- 
cerning Wishart,  Hve  may  conclude,  with  Dr.  Henry,  that 
'  his  death  was  a  loss  to  his  persecutors  as  well  as  to  his 
'  friends.     If  he  had  lived  a  few  years  longer,  the  reforma- 
tion, it  is  probable,  would  have  been  carried  on  with  more 
regularity  and  less  devastation.     He  had  acquired  an  asto- 
nishing power  over  the  minds  of  the  people;  and  he  ai- 
rways employed  it  in  restraining  them  from  acts  of  violence,' 
inspiring  them  with  love  to  one  another,  and  with  gentle- 
ness and  humanity  to  their  enemies.1 

WISHART,  or  WISCHEART  (George),  bishop  of 
Edinburgh,  was  born  in  East  Lothian  in  1609,  and  edu- 
cated iti  the  university  of  Edinburgh;  where  he  took  his 
degrees,  and  entered  into  holy  orders.  He  became  minis- 
ter of  Nortb  Leith,  but  was  deposed  in  1638,  for  refusing 
to  take  the  covenant,  and  was  also  imprisoned  for  his 
loyally.  On  his  release  he  accompanied  the  marquis  of 
Montrose  as  his  chaplain.  When  the  marquis  was  defeated 
by  general  Lesley  in  1645,  Wishart  was  taken  prisoner, 
and  would  have  suffered  death  along  with  several  noblemen 
end  gentlemen  whom  the  covenanters  condemned,  had  not 
bis  amiable  character  endeared  him  to  some  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  party.  He  then  went  abroad,  and  became 
chaplahi  to  Elizabeth,  queen  of  Bohemia,  sister  to  Charles 
I.  with  whom  he  came  over  into  England  in  1660,  to  visit 
her  royal  nephew  Charles  II.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Wishart  had 
the  rectory  of  Newcastle  upon  Tyhe  conferred  upon  hini; 
and  upon  the  restoration  of  episcopacy  in  Scotland,  was 

1  Mackenzie's  Scotch  Writers. — Buchanan's  History.  —  Spotswood's  apd 
Koox's  Histories. — Henry's  Hist. — Cook's  Hist,  of  the  Reformation. ~M'Cri^'s 
Life  of  Knox.— Master's  Hist,  of  C.C.UC. 


* 


SIS  W  I  S  H  A  It  T. 

consecrated  bishop  of  Edinburgh,  June  1,  1662.  In  that 
station  he  gave  a  most  striking  proof  of  that  benevolence 
which  should  ever  characterise  a  real  Christian  ;  for,  when 
some  of  the  presbyterians  who  had  persecuted  him  were 
committed  to  prison  for  rebellion,  he  assisted  them  with 
every  necessary,  and  procured  them  a  pardon.  He  died 
in  .1671,  and  was  buried  in  the  abbey  of  Holyrqod-bouse, 
under  a  magnificent  tomb,  with  a  long  Latin  inscription. 
Keith  says,  "  be  was  a  person  of  great  religion ;  and  hav- 
ing been  a  prisoner  himself,  it  is  reported  of  him  that  he 
was  always  careful  at  each  dinner,  to  send  off  the  first  mess 
to  the  prisoners."  He  wrote  the  history  of  the  war  in 
Scotland  under  the  conduct  of  the  marquis  ^f  Montrose,  in 
elegant  Latin,  under  the  title  of  "  J.  G.  de  rebus  auspiciis 
aereqissimi  et  potentissimi  Caroli,  Dei  gratia  Mag*  Brit, 
regis,  &c.  sub  imperio  illiistrissimi  Montisrosarum  mar- 
chionis,  &c.  anno  1644,  et  duobus  sequentibus,  praeclare 
gestis,  commentarius,  interprete  A.  S."  This  was  first 
published  in  1646,  and  there  have  been  several  English 
translations  of  it  from  that  time  to  1720,  when  it  was 
printed  with  a  second  part,  which  Keith  says  the  author  left 
in  manuscript.1 

WISSING  (William),  an  excellent  portrait  painter, 
was  bom  at  Amsterdam  in  1656,  and  bred  up  under  Do- 
daens,  an  historical  painter  at  the  Hague.  On  coming  to 
England,  he  worked  some  time  for  sir  Peter  Lely,  whose 
manner  he  successfully  imitated,  and  after  whose  death  he 
came  into  fashion.  He  painted  Charles  II.  and  his  queen, 
James  II.  and  his  queen,  and  the  prince  and  princess  of 
Denmark  ;  and  was  sent  over  to  Holland,  by  king  James, 
to  draw  the  prince  and  princess  of  Orange.  What  recom- 
mended him  to  the  esteem  of  Charles  II.  was  his  picture  of 
the  duke  of  Monmouth,  whom  he  drew  several  times  and 
in  several  attitudes.  He  drew  most  of  the  then  court,  and 
became  competitor  with  sir  Godfrey  Kneller,  whose  fame 
was  at  that  time  increasing  every  day.  It  is  said  that,  in 
drawing  portraits  of  the  fair  sex,  when  any  lady  came  to 
sit,  whose  complexion  was  rather  pale,  he  would  commonly 
take  her  by  the  hand,  and  dance  about  the  room  till  she 
became  warmer  and  her  colour  increased.  This  painter 
died  much  lamented  at  Burleigh-house,  in  Northampton* 

1  Keith's  Catalogue  of  the  Scotch  bishops.— Wood's  Fasti,  vol.  II.— Cens. 
lit  voL  II. 


W  I  S  5  I  N  G.  219 

•hire,  Sept.  10,  1687,  aged  only  thirty-one ;  And  was  bu- 
ried in  St.  Martin's  church,  Stamford,  where  a  marble  ta- 
blet, with  a  Latin  inscription,  was  placed  by  John  earl  of 
Exeter.  There  is  a  mezzotinto  print  of  him,  under  which 
are  these  words,  "  Gulielmus  Wissingus,  inter  pictorfcs  sui 
saeculi  celeberrimus,  nulli  secundus,  artis  suae  non  exiguum  - 
decus  &  ornamentum. — ImmodicU  brevis  est  rotas." ' 

WITCHELL  (George),  a  good  astronomer  and  ma- 
thematician, was  born  in  1728.  He  was  maternally  de- 
scended from  the  celebrated  clock  and  watchmaker,  Daniel 
Qoare,  in  which  business  he  was  himself  brought  up,  and 
was  educated  in  the  principles  of  the  Quakers,  all  his  pro- 
genitors for  many  generations  having  been  o&that  commu- 
nity, whose  simplicity  of  manners  he  practised  through 
life.  It  appears  that  he  cultivated  the  study  of  astronomy 
at  a  very  early  age,  as  he  had  a  communication  on  that 
subject  in  the  "  Gentleman's  Diary"  for  1741,  which  must 
have  been  written  when  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  Sooftr 
after  this  bfc  became  a  frequent  writer  both  in  the  Diaries 
and  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  sometimes  under  his 
own  name,  but  oftener  with  the  initials  G.  W.^only.  la 
1764  he  published  a  map,  exhibiting  the  passage  of  the 
moon's  shadow  over  England  in  the  great  solar  eclipse  of 
April  1,  that  year;  the  exact  correspondence  of  which  to 
the  observations  gained  him  great  reputation.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  presented  to  the  commissioners  of  longi- 
tude a  plan  for  calculating  the  effects  of  refraction  and  pa- 
rallax, on  the  moon's  distance  from  the  sun  or  a  star,  to 
facilitate  the  discovery  of  the  longitude  at  sea.  Having 
taught  mathematics  in  London  for  many  years  with  much 
reputation,  he  was  in  1767  elected  F.  R.  S.  and  appointed 
head  master  of  the  royal  naval  academy  at  Portsmouth, 
where  he  died  of  a  paralytic  stroke  in  1785,  aged  fifty-  - 
seven. * 

WITHER  (George),  a  name  well  known  among  the 
readers  of  old  English  poetry,  and  revived,  of  late,  by  the 
taste  and  judgment  of  some  eminent  poetical  antiquaries 
was  born  at  Bentworth,  near  Alton  in  Hampshire,  June  1 1, 
1588.  He  was  the  only  son  of  George  Wither  of  Bent- 
worth  (by  Anne  Serle),  who  was  the  second  son  of  John 
Wither  of  Manydowne  near  Wottoti  St.  Lawrence  in  that 

•  First  edit,  of  this  Diet— Walpole's  Anecdotes.— Pilkington. 
f  tf  Alton's  Diet,  new  edit 


*20  wither; 

county,  at  which  seat  Mr.  Bigg  Wither^  the  heir  {not  the 
heir  male,  but  the  heir  female,  who  hag  taken  the  name), 
still  resides.  The  poet  was  educated  under  John  Greaves 
of  Colemore,  a  celebrated  schoolmaster,  whom  be  after- 
awards  commemorated  with  gratitude  in  a  poem  published 
4n  1613.  About  1604  he  was  sent  to  Magdalen  college, 
Oxford,  under  the  tuition  of  John  Warner,  afterwards 
bishop  of-  Rochester.  Here  he  informs  us,  in  the  proe- 
raium  to  his  "  Abuses  stript  and  whipt,"  that  he  found  the 
4rt  of  logic, 'to  which  his  studies  were  directed,  first  dull 
♦and  unintelligible ;  but  at  the  moment  it  began  all  at  once 
to  unfold  its  mysteries  to  him,  he  was  called  home  "  to 
|*old  the  plough."  He  laments  that  he  was  thus  obliged 
to  forsake  "  the  Paradise  of  England"  to  go  "  in  quest  of 
care,  despair,  and  discontent." 

After  he  had  remained  some  time  in  his  own  country, 
certain  malicious  advisers,  under  the  mask  of  friendship, 
"pretending  that  nothing  was  to  be  got  by  learning,  endea- 
voured to  persuade  his  father  to  put  him  to  some  mechanic 
trade ;  but  our  poet,  finding  that  country  occupations  were 

v  not  fitted  to  his  genius,  determined,  on  some  slight  gleam 
of  hope,  to  try  his  fortune  at  court,  and  therefore  entered 
himself  as  a  member  of  Lincoln's-inn.  The  world  now 
opened  upon  him  in  characters  so  different  from  his  expec- 
tations, that,  haying  been  probably  educated  in  puritanical 
principles,  he  felt  that  disgust  which  perhaps  made  him  a 
satirist  for  life.  The  first  thing  which  appeared  to  fill  him 
with  dislike  and  anger,  was  the  gross  flattery  and  servility 
which  seemed  necessary  to  his  advancement.  If,  however, 
his  manners  did  not  procure  him  favour  with  the  courtiers, 
his  talents  obtained  him  the  acquaintance  and  friendship  of 
many  men  of  genius.  William  Browne,  the  pastoral  poet, 
who  was  of  the  Inner  Temple,  was  an  early  familiar  of 
his.  And  some  of  his  verses  having  got  abroad,  began  to 
procure  the  name  of  a  poet  for  himself.  His  "  Philarete's 
Complaint,  &c."  formed  a  part  of  his  "  Juvenilia,"  which 
are  said  to  have  been  his  earliest  compositions.  He  also 
wrote  elegies  in  1612  on  that  general  subject  of  lamenta- 
tion, the  death  of  prince  Henry. 

In  1613  first  appeared  his  celebrated  satires,    entitled 

-*'  Abuses  stript  and  whipt,"  for  which  so  much  food  was 
furnished  by  the  motley  and  vicious  manners  of  the  nation. 
Wither,  therefore,  bursting  with  indignation  at  the  view  of 
society  which  presented  itself  to  his  young  mind,  took  this 


WITHER.  ?f  t 

Opportunity  to  indulge  in  a  sort  of  publication  to  which 
the  prosaic  taste  of  the  times  was  well  adapted ;  but  he 
disdained,  and  perhaps  felt  himself  unqualified,  to  use  that 
glitter  of  false  ornament,  which  was  now  substituted  for  the 
true  decorations  of  the  muse.  "  I  have  strived,"  says  he, 
"to  be  as  plain  as  a  pack-saddle,"  and  in  these  satires  he 
is  indeed  excessively  plain,  and  excessively  severe,  and 
they  gave  so  much  offence  that  he  was  committed  to  the 
Marshalsea,  where  he  continued  several  months.  In  1615 
he  published  "  The  Shepherd's  Hunting :  being  certain 
eglogues  written' during  the  time  of  the  author's  imprison- 
ment in  the  Marshalsea ;"  which  book,  Wood  observes,  is 
said  to  contain  more  of  poetical  fancy  than  any  other  of 
his  writings.  Of  this  interesting  poem,  sir  Egerton  Brydges 
has  lately  published  a  beautiful  edition  in  12 mo,  and  in  the 
preface  observes,  with  a  decision  which  every  man  of  taste 
will  respect,  that  "  The  Shepherd's  Hunting  has  so  much 
merit,  and  is  so  abundant  in  a  natural  vein  of  simple, 
effecting,  and  just  sentiment,  as  well  as  imagery,  that  he 
who  can  read  it,  and  doubt  the  author's  genius,  is  insensible 
to  all  the  features  which  bespeak  the  gifts  of  the  muse.1* 
When  in  prison,  Wither  not  only  also  wrote  but  published  bis 
u  Satire  to  the  King,"  1614.  He  terms  this  an  apology  for 
former  errors,  proceeding  from  the  beat  of  youth,  but  part 
of  it  is  a  vindictive  appeal  to  the  king  from  the  restraint 
put  upon  his  person,  and  part  of  it  is  a  ~  monologue  con* 
ducted  by  the  author  between  the  impulses  of  supplication 
find  disdain.  It  is  thought,  however,  to  have  procured  his 
release. 

After  this  time  he  continued  to  write  and  publish  both 
poetry  and  prose  without  intermission  to  the  day  of  hi§ 
tteath,  which  yet  was  at  a  great  distance.  Wood  remarks, 
with  more  correctness  of  judgment  and  expression  than 
fee  usually  attains,  that  our  poet  was  now  cried  up,  "  es- 
pecially by  the  puritan  party,  for  his  profuse  pouring  forth 
of  English  rhyme,9'  which  abundant  facility  has  certainly 
tempted  him  into  an  excess  that  has  totally  buried  the  effu- 
aions  of  his  happier  moments.  Such  a  superfluity  of  easy 
Arat  flat  and  insipid  narrative,  and  trite  prosaic  remarks, 
scarce  any  writer  has  been  guilty  of.  On,  his  pen  appears 
in  general,  to  have  run,  wittfout  the  smallest  effort  at  ex* 
cellence ;  and  therefore  subjected  him  too  justly  to  Wood's 
•stigma  of  being  a  scribbler.  But  let  it '  be  observed,  this 
eras  the  fault  of  his  will,  ^nd  not  of  his  genius;     When  the 


123  W  I  T  H  E  E. 

examples  of  real  poetry,  which  be  has  given,  are  selected 
from  his  multitudiuous  rhymes,  they  are  in  point  both  of 
quality  and  quantity  sufficient  to  stamp  his  fame. 

Another  cause  of  the  depression  of  Withers  reputation 
was  the  violent  party  spirit,  by  which  a  large  portion  of  his 
works  was  dictated  and  degraded,  as  well  as  the  active  part 
which  he  took  on  the  side  of  the  parliament.  In  1639,  he 
had  been  a  captain  of  horse  in  the  expedition  against  the 
Scots,  and  quarter- roaster-general  of  his  regiment,  under 
the  earl  of  Arundel.  But  as  soon  as  the  civil  wars  broke 
out  in  1642,  he  sold  his  estate  to  raise  a  troop  of  horse  for 
the  parliament ;  and  soon  afterwards  rose  to  the  rank  of 
major ;  but  being  taken  prisoner  by  the*  royalists,  "  Sir 
John  Denham  the  poet,"  s^ys  Wood,  "  some  of  whose  es- 
tate at  Egham,  in  Surrey,  Wither  bad  got  into  his  clutches, 
desired  his  majesty  not  to  hang  him,  beeause  so  long  as 
Wither  lived,  Denham  would  not  be  accounted  the  worst 
poet  in  England.  About  that  time,9'  continues  Wood,  "he 
was  constituted  by  the  Long  Parliament  a  justice  of  peace 
in  quorum  for  Hampshire,  Surrey,  and  Essex,  which  office 
he  kept  six  years,  and  afterwards  was  made  jby  Oliver,  ma- 
jor-general of  all  the  horse  add  foot  in  tbe  county  of  Sur- 
rey, in  which  employment  he  licked  his  fingers  sufficiently, 
gaining  thereby  a  great  odium  from  the  generous  loyalists/* 

At  the  restoration  in  1660,  the  spoils  which  he  had 
amassed  from  the  adherents  of  the  king,  and  from  the 
church,  were  taken  from  him.  His  principles,  and  espe- 
cially a  libel  entitled  "  Vox  vulgi,"  which  be  had  dispersed, 
and  which  was  deemed  seditious,  rendered  bfm  obnoxious 
to  the  new  government,  and  he  was  now  committed  to 
Newgate ;  and  afterwards,  by  order  of  the  House  of  Com* 
mons,  was  sent  close  prisoner  to  tbe  Tower,  to  be  debarred 
of  pen,  ink,  and  paper;  and  about  the  same  time  (March 
1661-2),  an  impeachment  was  ordered  to  be  drawn  up. 
against  him*  In  this  confinement  he  continued  more  than 
three  years,  and  here  he  wrote  several  things  by  connivance 
of  the  keeper,  of  which  some  were  afterwards  published^ 
4f  yet  never,"  adds  Wood,  "  could  refrain  from  shewing  him* 
self  a  presby  terian  satirist."     When  he  was  released  is  not 

Sientioned,  but  he  reached  the  age  of  seventy- nine,  and 
ied  May  2,  1667,  and  was  Interred  in  the  Savoy  church 
in  the  Strand. 

That  Wither  was  a  poet,  and  a  poet  deserving  to  be  bet- 
ter known,  has  been  sufficiently  proved  by  the  selection 


WITHER  **S 

from  his  "Juvenilis,"  printed  by  the  late  Alexander  Dal- 
jymple,  esq.  in  17,85,  and  particularly  by  the  more  recent 
republications  of  bis  "  Shepherd's  Hunting/9  1814,  his 
"Fidelia,"  1815,  and  his  "Hymns  and  Songs  of  the 
Church/'  1815,  by  sir  Egerton  Brydges,  whose  prefaces 
and  remarks  add  no  small  value  to  these  beautiful  volumes, 
and  whose  judgment  and  taste  in  the  revival  of  works,  of 
neglected  merit  cannot  be  too  highly  appreciated.  It  is  to 
tfais'learned  baronet  also  that  the  reader  is  indebted  for  all 
that  is  valuable  in  the  present  sketch  of  Wither,  taken  from 
a  more  copious  life  of  the  poet  in  the  "  Bibliographer."  In 
the  same  work,  the  reader  may  be  referred  to  a  very  accu- 
rate list,  and  history,  by  Mr.  Park,  of  all  Wither' s  writings, 
amounting  to  112  articles  in  prose  and  verse,  from  which 
very  pleasing  selections  may  yet  be  made.  They  are  almost 
all  of  rare  occurrence,  and  expensive  in  proportion,  since 
the  attention  of  the  public  has  been  drawn  to  them  by  the 
various  critics  mentioned  in  our  references.1 

WITHERING  (William),  an  able  physician  and  bota- 
nist, was  born  in  1741,  at  Willi ngton  in  Shropshire,  where 
his  father  was  an  apothecary.  After  being  initiated  in  phar- 
macy and  medicine  under  his  father,  he  was  sent  to  the 
university  of  Edinburgh,  where  be  studied  the  usual  time, 
and  took  the  degree  of  doctor  of  physic  in  1766.  Not  long 
after  he  left  the  university,  he  settled  at  Stafford,  where 
meeting  with  little  encouragement,  he  removed  in  1774  to 
Birmingham ;  and  here  his  abilities  were  soon  called  into 
action ;  and  in  a  few  years  his  practice  became  very  extensive, 
and  having  a  studious  turn,  he  devoted  those  hours  which 
remained  after  the  business  of  the  day,  to  philosophical 
and  scientific  pursuits.  In  1776  he  published,  in  2  vols. 
8vo,  the  first  edition  of  his  "  Botanical  Arrangement ;"  a 
work  which,  at  that  tiipe,  could  be  considered  as  little  more 
than  a  mere  translation  from  Linnaeus  of  such  genera  and 
species  of  plants  as  are  indigenous  ia  Great  Britain ;  and  in 
which  Ray's  "  Synopsis  Methodica  Stirptum  Britannica* 
rum,"  and  Hudson's  "  Flora  Anglica,"  could  not  fail  to 
aflbrd  him  great  assistance ;  but,  in  the  course  of  the  two 
other  editions  of  it  (the  last  of  which,  in  4  .vols.  8vo,  was 
published  in  1796),  this  "Arrangement"  has  been  so  much 
improved  and  enlarged,  as  to  have  become,  in  a  great  mea- 

1  Ajtb.  Ox.  vol.  IF.— Bibliographer,  vol.  I.  .and  II. — Censura  Literaria. — Res- 
tituU,  vol.  I.— Life  of  Wither,  Gent.  Mag.  vol  LXX.  by  Mr.  Gilchrist,  one  of 
the  first  who  discerned  the  merits  of  Wither. 


2*4  W  1  T  H  t  R  i  N  G. 

sure,  an  original  work;  and  certainly,  as  a  national  Flord^ 
it  must  be  allowed  to  be  &  very  elaborate  and  complete* 
performance.  Botany,  however,  did  not  engross  all  our. 
author's  attention  :  many  of  bis.  leisure  hours  he  devoted* 
to*  chemistry  and  .mineralogy.  In  1783,  )pe  translated 
Bergman's  "  Sckagraphia  Regni  Mineralis,"  under  thei 
title  of  "  Outlines  of  Mineralogy  ;"  and,  before  and  since 
that  time,  he  addressed  to  the  Royal  Society  several  com-* 
uiqnications  relative  to  those  branches  of  knowledge.  Thqs* 
in  1773,  we  6nd  inserted  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions, 
his  experiments  on  different  kinds  of  marie  found  in  Staf- 
fordshire. In  the  same  Transactions  for  1782,  his  analysis, 
qf  the  toad-stone,  a  fossil  met  with  in  Derbyshire.  In  the 
$ame  work  for  1784,  bis  experiment  on  the  Urra  ponderosa. 
And  lastly,  in  1798*  his  analysis  of  a  hot  mineral  spring  in> 
Portugal.  Amidst  these  diverged  pursuits  he  did  not  re? 
lax  in  his  professional  studies,  In  1779,  be  published  an 
"  Account  of  the  Scarlet  Fever  and  Sore  Throat ;"  and,  ir* 
1785,  appeared  his  account  of  the  fox-glove;  wherein  he 
laid  before  the  public  a  very  satisfactory  body  of  evidence; 
in  favour  of  the  diuretic  virtues  of » this  vegetable  in  various 
kinds  of  dropsies.  From  early  life  Dr.  Withering  was  of  a 
slender  and  delicate  habit  of  body  ;  and,  not  long,  after  trig 
first  establishment  in  practice,  he  became  subject  to  attacks 
of  peripneumony.  By  these  repeated  attacks  bis  lungs 
were  at  length  so  much  injured,  and  his  whole  frame  so 
much  debilitated,  that  he  found  it  necessary  to  repair  to  3 
warmer  climate.  Accordingly,  in  the  autumn  of  1793,  he 
made  a  voyage  to  Lisbon.,  where  he  passed  the  winter,  re- 
turning to  England  the  following  spring.  Thinking  be 
had  received  benefit  from  the  climate  of  Portugal,  he  made 
a  second  voyage  to  Lisbon  the  following  winter,  and  re- 
turned home  again  1795.  While  be  was  in  Portugal,  he 
analyzed  the  hot  mineral  waters,  called  the  Caldas.  This 
analysis  was  published  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  royal  academy 
of  sciences  at  Lisbon ;  and  since  in  the  Philosophical  Tran- 
sactions of  the  Royal  Society  in  London.  After  his  return 
from  bis  last  voyage  to  Lisbon,  his  health  remained  in  a 
very  fluctuating  state,  sometimes  so  tolerable  as  to  allow 
going  out  in  a  carriage;  at  other  times,  so  bad  as  to  con? 
fine  him  to  his  room*  In  this  manner  his  existence  was 
protracted  until  Sept.  1799,  when  be  removed  from  Edg* 
baston-hall,  where  he  had  resided  (under  a  lease  granted 
by  the  late  lord  Calthorpe)  for  several  years,  to  a  house^ 


WITHERING.  225 

which  he  had  recently  purchased,  and  bad  Darned  tb* 
Larches,  and  where  be  died  Oct.  6,  1799,  To  the  distin- 
guished rank  which  he  held  in  the  medical  profession,  Dr. 
Withering  was  raised  wholly  by  personal  merit.  He  pos* 
sessed  great  clearness  of  discernment,  joined  with  a  most 
persevering  application.  He  was  of  a  humane  and  mild 
disposition.  With  his  family  and  among  bis  friends  he  was 
cheerful  and  communicative;  but  with  the  world  at  large v 
and  even  in  his  professional  character,  he  was  shy  and  re* 
served.1 

WITHERSPOON  (John),  an  eminent  divine  in  Scot- 
land and  America,  and  a  lineal  descendant  from  Knox  the 
celebrated  Scotch  reformer,  was  born  Feb.  5,  1722,  at 
Yester  near  Edinburgh,  of  which  parish  bis  father  was 
minister.  After  some  previous  education  at  the  public 
school  at  Haddington,  he  was,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  sent 
to  the  university  of  Edinburgh,  and  having  gone  through 
the  usual  course  of  academical  studies,  was  licensed  to 
preach,  and  soon  after  was  ordained  minister  of  the  parish 
of  Beith,  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  whence,  in  a  few  years* 
he  was  removed  to  be  minister  at  the  large  and  flourish* 
ing  town  of  Paisley.  During  his  residence  here  he  was 
much  admired  for  his  general  learning,  his  abilities  in  the 
pulpit,  and  for  his  writings,  one  of  which,  bis  "  Ecclesias* 
tical  Characteristics,"  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  humorous 
satires  ever  written  on  a  subject  which  apparently  did  not 
admit  of  that  mode  of  treatment.  No  satire  in  our  time 
was  read  with  more  approbation  and  interest  than  Wither- 
spoon's  <(  Characteristics"  for  many  years  in  Scotland.  It 
is  levelled  at  the  party  iu  the  general  assembly  of  Scotland, 
who  were  called  the  moderate  men,  in  contradistinction  to 
those  called  the  orthodox,  or  who  adhered  strictly  to  the 
doctrines  contained  in  their  national  "  Confession  of  Faith.9' 
From  this  publication,  and  from  his  speeches  in  the  general 
assembly,  Witherspoon  acquired  much  influence*  but  he 
had  to  contend  with  almost  all  the  literary  force  of  the  as- 
sembly, the  Blairs,  Gerards,  Campbells,  and  Robertsons, 
who  were  considered  as  the  leaders  of  the  moderate  party. 
One  day,  after  carrying  some  important  questions  against 
t)r.  Robertson,  the  latter  said  in  his  pleasant  manner,  "  I 
think  you  have  your  men  better  disciplined  than  formerly." 
**  Yes,"  replied  Witherspoon,  "  by  urging  your  politics  too 

1  Gcnfc.  Mag*  .vol.  L3tlX. 

Vol.  XXXIL  Q* 


226  ^VITHERSPOON. 

fa**,  you  have  compelled  us  to  beat  you  with  your  own 
weapons.1* 

During  Dr.  Witherspoon's  residence  at  Paisley,  he  had 
eligible  offers  from  Dublin,  from  Dundee,  and  from  Rot- 
terdam, which  he  rejected,  but  at  length  his  reputation 
having  reached  that  continent,  he  was  induced  to  accept  an 
offer  from  America,  and  on  his  arrival  at  Prince-town  hi 
1768,  was  appointed   president  of  the  college  there,  the 
prosperity  of  which  was  greatly  augmented  under  hi*  ad- 
ministration, not  only  with  respect  to  its  funds  and  the 
number  of  students,  but  from  his  introducing  every  im- 
provement in   education  and   science,    which  had    been 
adopted  in  Europe.     When  the  revolutionary  war  was  ap- 
proaching, he  became  a  decided  friend  to  the  cause  of 
America,  and  was  for  seven  years  a  member  of  the  congress. 
After  the  peace  he  paid  a  visit  to  England,  and  returning 
soon  after  to  Prince-town,  died  there  Nov.  15,  1794,  in 
his  seventy-third  year.     His  printed  works,  very  superior 
in  point  of  style  and  manner,  consist  of  "  Essays"  in  3  vols. 
8vo,  on  theological  topics,  and  two  volumes  of  "  Sermons,'* 
besides  the  "  Characteristics,"  already  noticed,  and  a  work 
"  On  the  nature  and  effects  of  the  Stage,"  which  at  one 
time  made  a  great  noise.     Bishop  Warburton   mentions 
"  The  Characteristics'1  with  particular  approbation.1 . 

-"WITSIUS,  or  WITS  (Herman),  a  very  learned  and 
eminent  divine  of  North  Holland,  was  born  at  Enckhuisen, 
Feb.  12,  1636.  He  was  trained  to  the  study  of  divinity, 
and  so  distinguished  himself  by  his  uncommon  abilities  and 
learning,  that  he  was  chosen  theological  professor,  first  at 
Franeker,  afterwards  at  Utrecht,  and  lastly  at  Ley  den.  He 
applied  himself  successfully  to  the  study  of  the  Oriental 
tongues,  and  was  not  ignorant  in  any  branch  of  learning 
which  is  necessary  to  form  a  good  divine.  He  died  Oct. 
22,  1708,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age,  after  having 
published  several  important  works,  which  shew  great  judg- 
ment, learning,  and  piety.  One  of  the  principal  of  these 
is  "  Egyptiaca ;"  the  best  edition  of  which,  at  Amsterdam, 
1696,  in  4to,  has  this  title  :  "^Egyptiaca,  et  Decaphylon  ; 
sive,  de  jEgvptiacorum  Sacrorum  cum  Hebraicis  collation© 
Libri  tres.  Et  de  decern  tribubus  Israelis  Liber  singularia. 
Accessit  Diatribe  de  Legione  Fulminatrice  Christianoriim, 
sub  Imperatore  Marco  Aurello  Antorrino,"  Amst.  1693,  and 

/  '  Funeral  Sermpn  by  Dr.  Rodgers,  in  Prot.  Diss.  Mag.  vol.  U. 


W  I  T  S  I  U  S.  fl«» 

IB96,  4to.  Witsius,  in  this  work,  not  only  compares  the 
religious  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Jews  and  Egyptian's* 
but  he  maintains  particularly,  against  our  sirJqhn  Marshatn 
and  Dr.  Spencer,  that  the  former  did  not  borrow  theirs* 
or  any  part  of  them,  from  the  latter,  as  these  learned  and 
eminent  writers  -had  asserted  in  their  respective  works* 
"  Canon  Cbronicus,"  and  "  De  Legibus  Hebraeorunu'* 
"  The  Oeconomy  of  the  Covenants  between  God  and  Man'* 
is  another  work  of  Witsius,  and  the  best  known  in  this  coun- 
try, having  been  often  printed  in  English,  3  vols.  5vo.  Of 
this  and  its  author,  Hervey,  in  his  "  Theron  and  Aspasia,'* 
has  taken  occasion  to  speak  in  the  following  terms  :  "Toe 
Oeconomy  of  the  Covenants,"  says  be,  "  is  a  body  of  di+ 
finity,  in  its  method  so  well  digested,  in  its  doctrine  so 
truly  evangelical,  and,  what  is  not  very  usual  with  our 
systematic  writers,  in  its  language  so  refined  and  elegant* 
in  its  manner  so  affectionate  and  animating,  that  I  would 
recommend  it  to  every  student  in  divinity.  I  would  not 
scrapie  to  risk  all  my  reputation  upon  the  merits  of  this 
performance ;  and  I  cannot  but  lament  it,  as  one  of  my 
greatest  losses,  that  I  was  no  sooner  acquainted  with  this 
fnost  excellent  author,  all  whose  works  have  such  a  deli- 
cacy of  composition,  and  such  a  sweet  savour  of  holiness* 
that  I  know  not  any  comparison  more  proper  to  represent 
their  true  character  than  the  golden  pot  which  had  manna,* 
and  was  outwardly  bright  with  burnished  gold,  inwardly 
rich  with  heavenly  food." ' 

WITT.     See  DE  WITT, 

WITTE  DE.     See  CANDIDO. 

WITTE,  or  WITTEN  (H&nningUs),  a  German  bio- 
grapher, was  born  in  1634.  We  find  very  few  particulars 
*f  him,  although  he  has  contributed  so  much  to  our  know*- 
ledge  of  other  eminent  men.  He  was  a  divine  and  pro- 
fessor of  divinity  at  Riga*  where  he  died  Jan.  22,  1696. 
Morhoff  bestows  considerable  praise  on  his  biographical  la- 
bours, which  were  principally  five  volumes  of  memoirs  of 
the  celebrated  men  of  the  seventeenth  century,  as  a  sequel 
to  those  of  M elchior  Adam.  They  were  octavo  volumes, 
and  published  under  the  titles  of  "  Memoria  Theologorum 
nostri  seculi,"  Franc.  1674,  reprinted  in  1685,  2  vols. ; 
"  Memoria  Medicorum  ;"  "  Memoria  Jurisconsultorum  ;" 

1  Life  prefixed  to  the  "  Oeconomy  of  the  Covenants,"  edit.  *?62«— Burman 
Traject.  Enidit.—Saxii  OnomMticon. 

Q   2 


228  W  I  T  T  E. 

u  Memoria  Philosophorum,"  &c.  which  last  includes  poet* 
and  polite  scholars.  The  whole  consist  of  original  lives,  or 
eloges  collected  from  the  best  authorities.  The  greater 
part  ave  Germans,  but  there  are  a  few  French  and  English. 
In  1688  he  published,  what  we  have  often  found  very  use- 
ful, his  *'  Diarium  Biographicum  Sc  pip  to  rum  seculi  xvii." 
vol.  I.  4to,  1688,  vol,  II.  1691.  It  appears  that  Wittepaid 
a  visit  to  England  in  1666,  and  became  acquainted  with 
the  celebrated  Dr.  Pocock,  to  whom  he  sent  a  letter  ten 
years  afterwards,  informing  the  doctor  that  he  had  for  some 
time  been  engaged  in  a  design  of  writing  the  lives  of  (he 
most  famous  writers  of  that  age  in  each  branch  of  litei  a* 
ture,  and  had  already  published  some  decades,  containing 
memoirs  of  divines,  civilians,  and  physicians;  "that  he 
,  was  now  collecting  eloges  on  the  most  illustrious  philolo* 
gers,  historians,,  orators,  and  philosophers ;  but  wanted  me- 
moirs of  the  chief  Englishmen  who,  in  the  present  (seven* 
teeuth)  century,  have  cultivated  these  sciences*  having  no 
relation  of  this  sort  in  his  possession,  except  of  Mr.  Cam- 
den ;  he  begs,  therefore,  that  Dr.  Pocock,  would,  by  the 
bearer,  transmit  to  him  whatever  he  had  to  communicate 
in  this  way."  *  ' 

WODHULL  (Michael),  the  first  translator  into  English 
verse  of  all  the  tragedies  and  fragments  qf  Euripides  which 
are  extant,  was  born  Aug.  15,  1740,  at  Then  ford,  in  Nor* 
tbamptoushire,  and  was  sent  first  to  Twyford,  in  Bucking.* 
hamshire,  to  the  school  of  the  rev.  William  Cleaver.  This 
preceptor  bad  three  sons,  William,  bishop  of  St.  Asaph, 
Eusebius,  archbishop  of  Dublin,  and  John,  student  of 
Christ  Church,  Oxford,  who  were  all  attached  to  Mr.  Wod- 
hull  with  the  sincerest  friendship  through  life.  To  John, 
one  of  his  poetical  epistles  (the  ninth)  is  addressed,  in  which 
honourable  mention  is  made  of  the  father* 

"  Beneath  whose  auspices  his  earlier  age 
Imbibed  the  dictates  of  the  good  and  sage." 

Frbm  Twyford  he  was  removed  to  Winchester  school, 
and  afterwards  to  Brasennose  college,  Oxford.  He  in- 
herited from  his  father,  who  died  while  he  was  at  school,, 
a  large  fortune,  of  which  the  first  use  that  he  made  was  to 
build  a  handsome  mansion  on  his  patrimonial  inheritance. 
In  1761  he  married  a  lady  of  great  personal  accomplish - 
pients,  and  universally  loved  and  respected,  MissCathe* 

1  Baillet  Jugemem.— Morhoff  Poly  hist. — Saxii  Oootnast. 


W  0  D  H  U  L  L.  229 

rine  Mileah  Ingram,  of  an  ancient  family  situated  at  Wol* 
ford,  in  Warwickshire,  who  left  him  a  widower  without 
family  in  1808.  In  1803  be  took  advantage  of  the  short 
peace  to  gratify  his  curiosity  in  the  libraries  of  Paris,  and 
was  one-  of  the  English  detained  by  Bonaparte,  but  was 
afterward  released  on  account  of  his  age.  He  returned 
home  an  invalid  and  alone,  and  it  was  a  source  of  great 
distress  to  him  to  be  compelled  to  leave  behind  him  in 
France  his  faithful  servant.  From  that  period  bis  bodily 
infirmities  gradually  increased,  his  sight  at  length  failed, 
and  his  voice  became  scarcely  audible,  but  his  senses  apd 
bis  memory,  which  was  most  singularly  retentive,  con- 
tinued unimpaired  to  the  last.  He  died  without  a  struggle 
or  groan,  Nov.  10,  1816,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of 
his  age. 

Of  his  politics,  Mr.  Wodhull  say*  they  were  "  those  of  a 
British  whig,  not  run  away  with  by  national  prejudices;1' 
but  he  never  entered  into  public  life ;  his  chief  occupation 
and  amusement  being  the  study  of  books,  of  which  he  was 
celebrated  as  a  collector.  He  disposed  during  bis  life  of 
many  which  he  had  purchased,  but  left  behind  him  above 
4000  volumes,  consisting  principally  of  first  editions  and 
rare  specimens  of  early  printing.  The  duties  of  private 
and  social  life  no  man  discharged  with  more  fidelity  or  ex- 
actness. As  a  son,  a  husband,  a  friend,  a  master,,  a  land- 
lord, few  could  excel  him,  and  his  charities,  which  were 
numerous,  were  known  generally  to  those  only  whom  he 
benefited. 

.  As  to  his  religious  sentiments,  although  he  was  an  advo- 
cate for  toleration,  he  invariably  asserted  the  principle  of 
conformity  to  the  sound  and  apostolic  establishments  of 
the  land.  His  practice,  even  when  very  infirm,  was  to 
attend  divine  service  in  his  parish  church,  to  read  or  pro- 
cure some  friend  to  read  a  sermon  and  prayers  to  his  family 
and  domestics  every  Sunday  evening.  He  never  spoke  an 
unkind  word  to  his  servants,  and  there  was  hardly  an  instance 
known  of  any  one  quitting  his  service  for  that  of  another 
master.  He  never  complained,  nor  uttered  a  peevish  ex- 
pression under  the  greatest  privations  and  the  most  severe 
pain.  His  funeral  was,  by  his  own  desire,  as  his  life  had 
been,  without  parade  or  ostentation,  and  the  monumental 
stone  declares  no  more  than  the  name  '  and  age  of  him 
whose  mortal  reliques  lie  near  it. 

The  first  edition  of  Mr.  Wodhull's  translation  of  "  Euri- 


?3o  W0PBU1I, 

pides"  appeared  in  1782,  4  rob.  Svo,  since  reprinted  in  3 
yob.  8vo.  Whoever  considers  the  number  of  dramas  com* 
posed  by  tbe  Greek  tragedian,  the  variety  of  allusions  which 
they  contain  to  ancient  manners,  and  to  the  tenet*  of  phiT 
losophers ;  and.  the  peculiar  force  of  the  language  in  which 
they  were  written,  will  acknowledge  that  the  attempt  to 
render  them  into  English  verse  must  have  failed  altogether 
without  a  rare  union  of  perseverance,  knowledge,  and  abi? 
lity.  Original  composition  is  the  surest  test  of  genius,  but 
the  poetiqal  images  and  ideas  of  one  man  cannot  adequately 
5>e  represented  or  expressed  by  another  who  does  not  him- 
self possess  the  imagination  and  fancy  of  a  poet,  In  his 
translation  of  Euripides,  Mr,  Wodhull  has  selected  blank 
verse  as  the  best  adapted  for  tbe  dialogue, and  hy  rendered 
the  cborusses  for  tbe  most  part  in  a  Pindaric  ode.  The 
difference  therefore  both  of  tbe  subject  and  versification  is 
sijch  that  no  comparison  can  fairly  be  instituted  with  the 
poetical  versions  of  the  iEneid  and  tbe  Iliad.  Bu^  as  Dry- 
flen  and  Pope  have  secured  to  theroselyes  a^bigb  rank  in 
tbe  U*t  of  British  Classics  by  their  translations,  an  honour-r 
able  post  will,  also  be  assigned  to  Mr.  Wodhull,  who  has 
contributed  no  mean  addition  to  tbe  stock  of  British  Lite* 
rature,  and  naturalized  among  us  him,  whom  he  entitles 
"The  Philosophic  Bard." 

Mr.Wodhull's  poetical  fame,  however,  does  not  rest 
merely  on  translations  ;  be  was  the  author  of  several  poems 
published  at  different  periods,  which  he  collected  in  1804, 
and  printed  with  several  alterations  for  tbe  use  of  bis  friends 
in  an  elegant  octavo  volume,  to  which  his  portrait  was  pre- 
fixed. The  poems  consist  of  five  odes,  two  songs,  "Tbe 
Equality  of  Af  ankind ;"  "  On  Mr.  hollis's  print  of  Dr.  May- 
hew;1'  "The  Use  of  Poetry,9'  and  thirteen  epistles  ad* 
pressed  to  different  friends.  When  a  Very  young  man  he 
wrote  an  *'  Ode  to  Criticism,"  which  is  not  found  in  this 
collection*  It  was  intended  as  an  attack  on  certain  pecu- 
liarities in  the  writings  of  Thomas  Warton.  Warton  took 
a  singular  mode  of  avenging  himself,  by  inserting  tbe  ode 
in  "The  Oxford  Sausage"  among  poems  of  a  very  diffe* 
rent  sort.  This  proceeding  may  perhaps  be  considered  as 
a  proof  of  humour  in  the  laureate;  but  it  is  to  be  regretted 
(hat  it  has  been  the  means  of  perpetuating  a  composition 
which  its  author  would  long  ago  have  consigned  to  oblivion.' 

1  Private  eommufiiaitioiu 


WODROW.  *31 

WODROW  (Robert),  a  Scotch  ecclesiastical  historiap, 
son  to  the  rev.  James  Wodrow,  professor  of  divinity  in  the 
university  of  Glasgow,  was  born  there  in  1679,  and  after 
passing  through  his  academic  course,  was  chosen  in  1698 
librarian  to  the  university.  H^  held  this  office  for  four 
years,  during  which  he  had  many  valuable  opportunities  for 
indulging  his  taste  in  the  history  and  antiquities  of  the 
church  of  Scotland,  In  1703  be  was  ordained  minister  of 
the  parish  of  Eastwood,  in  which  humble  station  he  con- 
tinued all  his  life,  although  he  had  encouraging  offers  of 
greater  preferment  in  Glasgow  and  Stirling.  He  died  in 
1734,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five.  He*  published  in  1721,  in 
2  vols,  folio,  a  "  History  of  the  singular  sufferings  of  the 
Church' of  Scotland,  during  the  twenty-eight  years  imme- 
diately preceding  the  Revolution,"  written  with  a  fidelity 
which  has  seldom  been  disputed,  and  confirmed,  at  the  end 
of  each  volume,  by  a  large  mass  of  public  and  private  re* 
cords.  In  England  this  work  has  been  little  known,  ex- 
cept perhaps  by  an  abridgment  in  2  vols.  8vo.  by  the  Rev. 
.Mr.  Cruickshanks,  but  since  the  publication  of  the  histori- 
cal work  of  the  Hon.  Charles  James  Fox,  as  well  as  by  the 
writings  of  Messrs.  Sommerville  and  Laing,  it  has  greatly 
risen  in  reputation  as  well  as  price.  "  No  historical  facts," 
Mr.  Fox  says,  "  are  better  ascertained  than  the  accounts 
which  are  to  be  found  in  Wodrow.  In  every  instance 
where  there  has  been  an  opportunity  of  comparing  these 
accounts  with  the  records  arid  authentic  monuments,  they 
appear  to  be  quite  correct."  Mr.  Wodrow  also  left  a  great 
many  biographical  memoirs  of  the  Scotch  reformers  and 
presbyterian  divines,  which  are  preserved  in  the  university 
library  of  Glasgow. l 

WOIDE  (Charles  Godfrey),  a  name  worthy  to  be  pre- 
served  on  account  of  his  valuable  edition  of  the  Alexandrine 
MS.  of  the  New  Testament,  was  a  native  of  Holland,  but 
of  his  early  history  we  have  no  account.  His  first  prefer- 
ment in  this  country  was  to  the  preachership  of  the  Dutch 
chapel-royal  at  St.  James's,  about  1770,  to  which  be  was 
afterwards  appointed  reader  also.  At  the  time  of  bis  death 
he  was  reader  and  chaplain  at  the  Dutch  chapel  in  the  Sa- 
voy. In  1778  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the  society  of  an- 
tiquaries, and  in  that  year  distinguished  himself  by  revising, 
through  the  Clarendon  presf,  Scholtz's  "  Egyptian  Gram- 

1  Encyclop.  Britannic*,  last  edition. 


I, 


bit  WOID  £. 

mar,"  written  in  1750,  in  2  vols.  4to,  and  also  La  Croze's* 
*'  Lexicon  Egyptiaco-Latinum."  It  had  long  been  the 
Wish  of  thelearned  that  both  these  works,  left  in  MS!  by 
their  respective  authors,  might  be  published,  but  they  could 
not  find  a  printer  furnished  with  Egyptian  types,  or  who 
would  hazard  the  undertaking,  until  at  last  the  university 
Of  Oxford,  with  its  usual  munificent  spirit,  determined  to 
bear  the  expense.  When  the  Lexicon  was  printing,  Mr. 
Woide  was  desired  to  make  some  additions  to  it,  but  this 
not  being  proposed  till  more  than  half  the'wbrk  was  printed,1 
he  could  extend  his  remarks  to  three  letters  only,  and  to 
render  the  undertaking  more  useful,  he  added  an  index. 
It  was  intended  to  print  Scholtz's  Grammar  in  2  quarto 
vols,  immediately  after  the  Dictionary,  which  consists  of 
one  vol.  quarto;  but  it  being  found  too  voluminous,  Woide 
very  properly  abridged  it,  and  has  improved  it  by  carefully 
examining  and  correcting  it  by  means  of  MSS  unknown  to 
Scholtz.  The  Sahidic  part  was  entirely  supplied  by  Dr. 
Woide. 

In  1782  Dr.  Woide  was  appointed  an  assistant  librarian 
at  the  British  Museum,  at  first  in  the  department  of  natu- 
ral history,  but  soon  after  in  one  more  congenial  to  his 
studies,  that  of  printed  books.  He  had  before  obtained 
the  degree  of  D.  D.  from  the  university  of  Copenhagen, 
and  in  1786  was  created  doctor  of  laws  at  Oxford.  In  this 
year  appeared  his  truly  valuable  work,  the  "  Novum  Tes- 
iamentum  Grascum,  e  codice  MS.  Alexandrino,  qui  Lon- 
dini  in  Bib}.  Musei  Britannici  asservatur,  &c.  Ex  prelo 
Joannis  Nichols,  Typis  Jacksonianis,"  fol.  The  history 
<|f  this  MS.  thus  preserved  and  perpetuated  by  an  accurate 
fac-simile,  is  contained  in  the  editor's  learned  preface,  which 
was  reprinted  at  Leipsic  in  1790,  in  an  octavo  volume)  with 
notes  by  Gottliebb  Leberecht  Spohn.  Dr.  Woide  was 
seized  with  an  apoplectic  fit,  May  6,  1790,  while  at  sir 
Joseph  Banks's  converxatione,  of  which  he  died  next  day  at 
his  apartments  in  the  British  Museum. ' 

WOLFE,  or  WOLFIUS,  (Christian),  baron  of  the  Ro- 
man empire,  privy-counsellor  to  the  king  of  Prussia,  and 
chancellor  of  the  university  of  Hall  in  Saxony,  was  born  at 
Breslau,  Jan.  24,  1679.  To  the  college  of  this  city  he  was 
indebted  for  his  first  studies:  after  having  passed  his  les- 
sons in  philosophy,  be  applied  himself,  assiduously  to  the 

1  Nichols's  Bowyer,  vol.  IX. 


WOLFE.  8S3 

mathematics.  The  "  Elementa  Arithmetics,  vulgaris  et 
literalis,"  by  Henry  Horcb,  were  his  earliest  guides;,  by  a 
frequent  perusal  of  these,  he  was  at  length  enabled  to  en* 
rich  them  with  additional  propositions  of  his  own.  So  ra- 
pid a  progress  did  him  great  hqnour ;  whilst  the  different' 
disputes,  in  which  be  was  engaged  with  the  canons  of  Bres- 
lau,  laid  the  permanent  foundation  of  his  increasing  fame. 
In  1699,  he  repaired  to  the  university  of  Jena,  and  chose 
John  Philip  Treuner  for  his  master  in  philosophy,  and 
George  Albert  Hamberger  for  the  mathematics;  whose 
lessons  he  received  with  so  happy  a  mixture  of  attention 
and  advantage,  that  he  became  afterwards  the  able  instruc- 
tor of  his  fellow-students.  .  . 
.  From  Philip  Muller,  and  Frederic  Beckman,  be  re- 
ceived his  knowledge  of  theology  :  a  treatise  written  by 
Tschirnhausen,  entitled  "  Medicina  Mentis  &  Corporis,9' 
engaged  him  for  some  time ;  in  consequence  of  which,  in 
1702,  he  bad  a  conference  with  the  author,  to  clear  up 
some  doubts  concerning  particular  passages.  The.  detail 
into  which  Tschirnhausen  had  the  complaisance  to  enter 
with  this  young  philosopher,  enabled  him  to  model  the 
whole  on  a  more  extensive  plan.  Having  finished  that  part 
of  his  education  which  he  was  destined  to  receive  at  Jena,  ' 
|?e  went  to  Leipsic  in  1702 ;  and,  having  obtained  a  per-* 
mission  to  give  lectures,  he  began  his  new  employment, 
and,  in  1703,  opened  with  a  dissertation  called  "Pbiloso- 
phia  practjca  universalis,  methodo  mathematica  conscript 
ta ;"  which  first  attempt  served  greatly  to  enhance  the  re- 
putation of  his  talents.  Wolfe  chose,  for  the  foundation 
of  his  lessons,  the  method  followed  by  Tschirnhausen.  His 
philosophy  bore  as  yet  a  very  strong  resemblance  to  that  of 
Descartes,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  dissertation  "  De  loquela," 
which  he  published  in  1703.  Leibnitz,  to  whom  be  sent 
it,  told  him,  that  he  plainly  perceived,  that  his  hypothesis 
concerning  the  union  of  the  soul  and  body  was  not  hitherto 
sufficiently  just  and  explicit.  These  objections  made  him 
review  the  whole,  which  afterwards  went  through  several 
material  alterations. 

Two  dissertations  which  he  published  at  the  end  of  1703, 
the  first,  "  De  rotis  dentatis,"  and  the  second,  "  De  Al- 
goritbmo.  infinitesimal  differential],"  obtained  him  the 
honourable  appellation  of  assistant  to  the  faculty  of  philo- 
sophy at  Leipsic  The  universities  of  Giessen  and  Hall 
having  invited  him  to  be  their  professor  in  mathematics, 


134  WOLFE. 

he  accepted  of  the  o6fer  of  the  last,  and  went  tbhfaer  in 
1707.  The  same  year  he  was  admitted  into  the  society  at 
Leipsic,  which  was  at  that  time  engaged  in  the  publication 
of  the  "Acta  eruditorum.'*  After  having  irtserted  in  this 
work  many  important  pieces  relating  to  physic  arid  the 
mathematics,  he  undertook,  in  1709,  to  teach  all  the  vari- 
ous branches  of  philosophy,  and  began  with  a  little  logical 
Latin  treatise,  which  made  its  appearance  afterwards  in  the 
German  language,  under  the  title  of  "  Thoughts  on  the 
Powers  of  the  human  Understanding."  While  he  was 
carrying  on  these  great  pursuits  with  assiduity  and  ardour, 
the  king  of  Prussia  rewarded  him  with  the  post  of  counsel- 
lor to  the  court  on  the  decease  of  Bodinus  in  1721,  and 
augmented  the  profits  of  that  office  by  very  considerable 
appointments :  he  was  also  chosen  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  London  and  Prussia. 

In  the  midst  of  this  prosperity  he  raised  a  storm  against 
himself.  He  had,  on  the  12th  of  July,  1721,  delivered  a 
Latin  oration,  the  subject  of  which  was  the  morality  of  the 
Chinese:  he  loaded  their  philosophy  with  applause,  and 
endeavoured  to  prove  how  similar  its  principles  were  to 
those  which  he  bad  advanced  in  doctrines  of  his  own. 
The  divines  at  Hall  were  so  exasperated  at  this  attempt  to 
undervalue  their  tenets,  that  on  the  day  following  every 
pulpit  resounded  with  censures  of  Wolfe,  and  the  oppo- 
sition to  him  continued  till  1722,  when  the  faculty  of  the* 
©logy  were  determined  strictly  to  examine  each  production 
6f  our  extraordinary  philosopher.  Daniel  Strathler,  whose 
province  was  to  scrutinize  the  "Essay  on  Metaphysics," 
published  a  refutation  of  it.  Wolfe  made  his  complaints 
to  the  academic  council,  who  issued  out  an  order,  that  na 
one  should  presume  to  write  against  him :  but  the  faculty 
having  sent  their  representation  to  the  court,  which  were 
ail  backed  by  the  most  strenuous  assertions,  that  the  doc- 
trine which  Wolfe  taught,  particularly  on  the  subject  of 
liberty  and  necessity,  was  dangerous  to  the  last  degree,  an 
order  at  length  arrived,  Nov.  1 8,  1723,  not  only  displacing 
Wolfe,  but  commanding  him  (under  pain  of  being  severely 
punished  if  he  presumed  to  disobey)  to  leave  Hall  and  the 
States  in  twenty-four  hours  at  the  farthest 

Wolfe  retired 'now  to  Cassel,  where  he  obtained  the 
professorship  of  mathematics  and  philosophy  in  t{je  univer- 
sity of  Marbourg,  with  the  title  of  counsellor  to  the  court 
of  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  to  which  a  profitable  pension 


WOLFS.  98f 

m*  aimeaedu  Here  he  reasaimed  hit  labours  with  re- 
doubled ardour ;  and  it  was  iot  this  retreat  that  he  published 
the  beat  parts  of  his  numerous  works.  In  1725  be  was  de- 
clared an  honorary  professor  of  the  academy  of  sciences  at 
St  Petenburgb,  and,  in  1733,  was  admitted  into  that  at 
Paris.  The  king  of  Sweden  also  declared  him  one  of  the 
council  of  regency :  the  pleasing  situation  of  his  new 
abode,  and  the  multitude  of  honours  which  he  had  received, 
were  too  alluring  to  permit  him  to  accept  of  many  advan- 
tageous offers ;  amongst  which  was  the  post  of  president 
of  the  academy  at  St.  Petersbergh.  The  king  of  Prussia, 
who  was  now  recovered  from  the  prejudices  he  had  been 
made  to*  conceive  against  Wolfe,  wished  to  re-establish 
him  in  the  university  of  Hall  in  47 33,  and  made  another 
attempt  to  effect  it  in  1739.  Wolfe  met  these  advances 
with  all  that  respectful  deference  which  became  him,  but 
took  the  liberty  to  insinuate,  that  he  did  not  then  believe 
it  right  for  him  to  comply.  At  last,  however,  he  submit- 
ted; and  the  prince  offered  him,  in  1741,  an  employment 
which  threw  every  objection  that  he  could  make  aside. 
Wolfe,  still  mindful  of  Jiis  benefactors,  took  a  gracious 
Leave .  of  the  king  of  Sweden ;  and  returned  to  Hall,  in- 
vested with  the  characters  of  privy-counsellor,  vice-chan- 
cellor, and  professor  of  the  law. of  nature  and  of  nations. 
After  the  death  of  Ludwig,  the  king  raised  him  to  the  dignity 
of  chancellor  of  the  university,  and  the  elector  of  Bavaria 
created  him  a  baron  of  the  empire  (whilst  he  was  exercis- 
ing the  vicarship  of  it),  from  his  own  free  unbiassed  incli- 
nation. 

He  died  at  Hall  in  Saxony,  of  the  gout  in  his  stomach, 
April  9,  1754,  in  his  seventy-sixth  year;  after  having 
composed  in  Latin  and  German  more  than  sixty  distinct 
pieces.  The  chief  of  bis  mathematical  compositions  is  his 
"  Elementa  Matheseos  Uniyersse,"  the  best  edition  of 
which  is  that  of  1732,  5  vols.  4to,  printed  at  Geneva ; 
which  does  not,  however,  comprise  his.  Mathematical  Die* 
tionary  in  the  German  language,  nor  many  other  dis- 
tinct works  on  different  branches  of  the  mathematics.  His 
•"  System  of  Philosophy'7  is  contained  in  23  vols.  4to. 

Brucker  says,  that  Wolfe  "  possessed  a  clear  and  me- 
thodical understanding,  which  by  long  exercise  in  mathe- 
matical investigations  was  particularly  fitted  for  the  em- 
ployment of  digesting  the  several  branches  of  knowledge 
into  tegular  systems;  and  his  fertile  powers  of  invention 


f  36  WOLFE, 

enabled  him  to  enrich  almost  every  field  of  science,  in 
which  he  laboured,  with  some  valuable  additions.  The 
lucid  order  which  appears  in  all  his  writings  enables  his 
reader  to  follow  his  conceptions,  with  ease  and  certainty, 
through  the  longest  trains  of  reasoning.  But  the  close 
connection  of  the  several  parts-of  his  works,  together  with 
the  vast  variety  and  extent  of  the  subjects  on  which  he 
treats,  renders  it  impracticable  to  give  a  summary  of  his 
doctrines."  A  French  critic  remarks  that  all  the  German 
works  of  this  e«thor  are  *'  extremely  well  written,  and  he 
has  also  been  very  happy  in  finding  words,  in  that  language, 
answering  to  the  Latin  philosophical  terms  which  bad  till 
then  been  adopted ;  and  as  this  renders  a  small  dictionary 
necessary  for  understanding  his  phrases,  he  has  placed  one 
at  the  end  of  such  books  as  require  it.  As  to  his  Latin 
works,  they  are  very  ill  written  ;  his  words  are  ill  chosen, 
and  frequently  used  in  a  wrong  sense ;  his  phrases  too  per- 
plexed and  obscure,  and  his  style  in  general  too  diffuse." 
An  abridgment  of  his  great  Latin  work,  "On  the  Law  of 
Nature  and  Nations,"  has  been  published  in  French,  three 
small  vols.  12mo,  by'Formey  ;  to  which  is  prefixed,  a  life 
of  Wolfe,  and  a  chronological  list  of  all  his  writings.  He 
was,  doubtless,  one  of  the  most  learned  philosophers  and 
mathematicians  Germany  has  produced ;  but  his  eulogy 
seems  to  us  to  be  carried  too  far,  when  he  is  compared  to 
Descartes  and  Leibnitz  for  his  genius  and  writings,  in  both 
which  he  was  certainly  much  inferior  to  them.1 

WOLFE  (Major* General  James),  a  brave  English  of- 
ficer, was  the  son  of  lieutenant-general  Edward  Wolfe,  and 
was  born  at  Westerham,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  where  he 
was  baptised  the  nth  of  Jan.  1726.  He  seemed  by  nature 
formed  for  military  greatness :  bis  memory  was  retentive, 
his  judgment  deep,  and  bis  comprehension  amazingly  quick 
and  clear:  his  constitutional  courage  was  not  only  .uniform 
and  daring,  perhaps  to  an  extreme,  but  he  possessed  that 
higher  species  of  it,  that  strength,  steadiness,  and  activity, 
of  mind,  which  'no  difficulties  could  obstruct,  or  dangers 
deter.  With  an  universal  liveliness,  almost  to  impetuosity 
of  temper,  he  was  not  subject  to  passion  ;  with  the  great- 
est independence  of  spirit,  free  from  pride.  Generous, 
almost  to  profusion,  he  contemned  every  little  art  for  the 
acquisition  of  wealth ;  whilst  he  searched  after  objects  for 

1  Life  by  Forcney. — Morten.-- Diet.  Hist. — Brucker. — Saxij  Ouotna«t. 


WOLFE;  as* 

his  charity  and  beneficence,  the  deserving  soldier  never 
went  unrewarded,  and  even  the  needy  inferior  officer  fre* 
quently  tasted  of  his  bounty :  constant  and  distinguishing 
in  his  attachment,  manly  and  unreserved,  yet  gentle,  kind* 
and  conciliating  in  his  manners.  He  enjoyed  a  large  share 
of  the  friendship,  and  almost  the  universal  good-will,  of 
mankind;  and,  to  crown  all,  sincerity  and  candour,  a  true 
sense  of  honour,  justice,  and  public  liberty,  seemed  the  in- 
herent principles  of  his  nature,  and  the  uniform  rule  of  his 
conduct.  He  betook  himself,  when  very  young,  to  the 
profession  of  arms ;  and  with  such  talents,  joined  to  the 
most  unwearied  assiduity,  he  was  soon  singled  out  as  a  most 
rising  military  genius.  Even  so  early  as  the  battle  of  La~ 
feldt,  when  scarcely  twenty,  he  exerted  himself  in  so  mas-s 
terly  a  manner,  at  a  very  critical  juncture,  that  it  drew  the 
highest  encomiums  from  the  great  officer  then  at  the  head 
of  tbe  army.  During  the  whole  war,  he  went  on,,  without 
interruption,  .forming  his  military  character ;  was  present 
at  every  engagement,  and  never  passed  undistinguished. 
Even  after  the  peace,  whilst  others  lolled  on  pleasure's 
downy  lap,  he  was  cultivating  the  arts  of  war.  He  intro- 
duced (without  one  act  of  inhumanity)  such  regularity  and 
exactness  of  discipline  into  his  corps,  that,  as  long  as  the 
six  British  battalions  on  the  plains  of  Minden  are  recorded 
in  the  annals  of  Europe,  so  long  will  Kingsley's  stand 
amongst  the  foremost  of  that  day.  Of  that  regiment  he 
continued  lieutenant-colonel,  till  Mr.  Pitt,  afterwards  lord 
Chatham,  who  roused  the  sleeping  genius  of  his  country, 
called  him  forth  into  higher  spheres  of  action.  He  was 
early  in  the  most  secret  consultations  for  the  attack  upon 
Rocbfort :  and  what  he  would  have  done  there,  and  whqt 
he  afterwards  did  at  Louisbourg,  are  recorded  in  history, 
with  due  approbation.  He  was  scarcely  returned  thence, 
when  he  was  appointed  to  command  the  important  expe- 
dition against  Quebec.  There  his  abilities  shone  out  in 
their  brightest  lustre  :  in  spite  of  many  unforeseen  diffi- 
culties, from  the  nature  of  the  situation,  from  great  supe- 
riority of  numbers,  the  strength  of  the  place  itself,  and  his 
own  bad  state  of  health,  he  persevered  with  unwearied  di- 
ligence, practising  eveiy  stratagem  of  war  to  effect  his  pur- 
pose. At  last,  singly,  and  alone  in  opinion,  he  formed  and 
executed  that  great,  that  dangerous,  yet  necessary,  plan 
which  drew  out  the  French  to  their  defeat,  and  will  for 
ever  denominate  hiin  the  conqueror  of  Canada.     When, 


&3a  WOLFE. 

however,  within  the  grasp  of  victory,  he  received  a  biM 
through  his  wrist,  which  immediately  wrapping  op,  he 
went  on,  with  the  same  alacrity,  animating  his  troops  by 
precept  and  example :  but,  in  a  few  minutes  after,  a  se-j 
oond  ball,  through  his  body,  obliged  him  to  be  carried  off 
to  a  small  distance  in  tbe  rear.  There,  roused  from  faint- 
ing,' in  the  last  agonies,  by  the  sound  of  "  They  run,"  h*4 
eagerly  asked,  "Who  run?"  and  being  told  the  French* 
and  that  they  were  defeated,  be  said,  "then  I  thank  God; 
I  die  contented;"  and  almost  instantly  expired,  Sept.  13, 
1759. 

He  was  brought  to  England,  and  interred  at  Greenwich 
in  the  same  grave  with  his  father,  who  was  buried  on  the  se- 
cond of  April  preceding.  There  is  no  memorial  fof  hinot 
at  Greenwich,  but  a  cenotaph  has  been  put  up  to  his  me- 
mory in  Westminster  Abbey  at  the  public  expence,  and 
there  is  another  at  Westerbam,  the  place  of  his  nativity.  * 

WOLFE  (John),  a  learned  compiler,  was  born  Aug.  10, 
1537,  at  Bergzabern  in  the  duchy  of  Deux  Pents,  and  was 
educated  in  law  and  philosophy  at  Strasburgh,  Wirtemberg, 
Tubingen,  and  other  celebrated  academies,  and  afterwards 
.  was  entrusted  with  the  education  of  some  noblemen's  sons, 
,  with  whom  he  travelled  in  France,  &c.  from  1564  to  1567. 
Returning  then  to  Dol,  he  took  the  degree  of  licentiate  in 
civil  law,  and  settled  in  practice  at  Spire,  where  two  years 
after  he  was  admitted  into  the  number  of  assessors.  In 
1569  he  attended  Wolfgang,  the  elector  Palatine,  who  came 
with  an  army  to  the  assistance  of  tbe  French  protestants, 
and  his  highness  dyirig  a  few  months  afterwards,  Wolfe 
conducted  his  corpse  back  to  Germany  by  sea,  and  it  was 
interred  at  Meisenheim.  For  this  melancholy  duty  and  bis 
ether  faithful  services  he  grew  in  esteem  with  Philip  Lewis 
and  John,  tbe  electors  Palatine,  who  thought  him  worthy  of 
being  sent  twice  on  important  business  to  queen  Elizabeth  of 
England,  and  once  to  the  king  of  Poland.  In  1573  Charles 
marquis  of  Baden  made  him  one  of  his  counsellors,  and 
in  1575  appointed  him  governor  of  Mundlesheim,  which 
office  he  held  for  twenty  years,  and  received  many  honours 
and  marks  of  favour  from  the  Baden  family.  In  1594, 
finding  his  health  exhausted  by  official  fatigues,  he  retired 
to  Hailbrun,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in 
study,  and  died  of  a  very  short  illness,  as  had  always  been 
his  wish,  May  23,  .1600,  in  the  sixty-third  ^ear  of  his 

1  Pint  edit,  of  this  Diet.— Annual  Register— and  Gent.  Mag.  for  1759. 


WOL'P.E.  2H 

age.  He  wrote  "  Clavis  Historiarum  ;"  and  a  larger  work 
entitled  "  Lectiotium  memorabilium  et  reconditarum  Ceo* 
turiss  XVI."  2  vols,  fol.  printed  first  in  the  year  he  died, 
but  there  is  an  edition  of  1671,  which  is  not  io  much  va*' 
lued.  Mr.  Dibdin  has  accurately  described  this  curiott* 
work  in  his  "  Bibliomania/'  to  which  the  reader  is  re* 
f erred.1 

WOLFE  (John  Christopher),  a  learned  scholar,  hi* 
therto  strangely  overlooked  by  roost  foreign  biographers, 
was  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  1683,  bat  removed  in 
his  youth  to  Hamburgh,  where  he  was  educated  under  Fa* 
bricius,  and  assisted  him  in  his  "  Bibliotheca  Grseca,"  as 
appears  by  vol.  XIII.  of  that  laborious  work.     He  was  a 
Lutheran  divine,  and  preached  at  Hamburgh,  where  he 
was  also  professor  of  the  Oriental  languages,  and  where  he' 
died  in  1739.     Many  of  his  works  are  known  in  this  couq~ 
try,  and  have  been  often  quoted  with  approbation  by  bib- 
lical scholars  and  critics.     Among  them  are,  1.  "  Historia 
Lexicorum  Hebraieorum,"  Witteqa.  1705,  8 vo.  2.  "Disseiv 
tatio  de  Zabiis,"  ibid.  1706,  4to.     3.  "  Origenis  Philoso* 
phumena  recognita  et  notis  illustrata,"  Hamb.  1706,  8vo. 
4.  An  edition  of  Pbs&drus,  1 709.  5,  "  Dissertatio  de  Atheisms 
falso  suspectis,"  Wittem.  1710,  4to.     6.  "  Casauboniana, 
sive  Isaaci  Casauboni  varia  de.  Scriptoribus,  librisque  j*- 
dicia,"  Hamb.  1710,  8vo.     7.  "  Libanii  epiat.  adbuc  non 
editarum   centuria  select*  Gr.   cum  versione   et  notis," 
Leipsic,  1711,  8vo.     8.  "  Anecdota  Grseca  sacra  et  pro- 
fana,"  Hamb.  1722,  &c.  3  vols.  8vo.     9.  "  Curse  philolo* 
fficfiB  et  critic«  in  omnes  libros  N.  T,"  Hamb.  1725 — 1735, 
but  the  best  edition  is  that  of  Basil,  1741,  5  vols.  4to, 
This,  work,  says  bishop  Watson,  has  some  resemblance,  ia 
the  manner  of  its  composition,  to  Pool's  "  Synopsis/9  but 
is  written  with  more  judgment,  and  contains  the  opinions 
of  many  expositors  who  have  lived  since  the  publication 
of  Pool's  work.     Wolfe,  moreover,  has  not  followed  Pool 
in  simply  relating  the  sentiments  of  others,  but  has  fre± 
quently  animadverted  on  them  with  great  critical  discern- 
ment.    Wolfe  published  other  works,  and  new  editions,  all 
which  display  great  learning  and   critical  acumen.     His 
brother  John  Christian,  who  died  in  1770,  was  the  author 
of  the  "  Monumenta  typographical  Hamburgh,  1740, 8 vo, 
aa  edition  of  the  fragments  of  Sappho,  and  other  works.* 

1  Metcliior  Adam.— Freheri  Theatrura.— •» Bibliomania.  ; 

•  Saxii  OnOuaa^— Bibl.  German,  vols.  V.  and  VIII. 


240  WOLLASTON. 

WOLLASTON  (William),  a  learned  and  ingenious 
writer,  was  born  March  26,  1659,  at  Colon  Clan  ford,  i» 
Staffordshire,  where  his  father  theft  resided,  a  private  gen- 
tleman of  small  fortune,  being  descended  from  an  ancient 
and  considerable  family  in  that  county,  where  the  elder 
branch  always  continued;  but  the  second,  in  process  of 
time,  was  transplanted  into  other  counties.  The  head  of  it 
flourished  formerly  at  Oncot,  in  the  county  of  Stafford, 
though  afterwards  at  Shenton,  in  Leicestershire ;  and  was 
possessed  of  a  large  estate  lying  in  those  and  other  coun- 
ties. Qur  author  was  a  second  son  of  a  third  son  of  a  se- 
cond son  of  a  second  son,  yet  notwithstanding  this  remark- 
able series  of  younger  brothers,  his  grandfather,  who 
stands,  in  the  midst  of  it,  had  a  considerable  estate  both 
real  and  personal,  together  with  an  office  of  700/.  per  an- 
num. And  from  a  younger  brother  of  the  same  branch 
sprang  sir  John  Wollaston,  lord-mayor  of  London,  well 
known  in  that  city  at  the  time  of  the  grand  rebellion. 

At  uine  years  old,  Mr,  Wollaston  was  sent  to  a  master, 
who  had  opened  a  Latin  school,  at  Shenstone  in  Stafford- 
shire, where  his  father  then  resided.  Here  he  continued 
pear  two  years,  and  then  removed  to  Lichfield  ;  but  had 
not  been  long  at  this  school,  when  the  magistrates  of  the 
city,  in  consequence  of  some  dispute,  turned  the  master 
out  of  the  school-house.  Mr.  Wollaston,  however,  with 
many  of  the  scholars,  followed  the  ejected  master,  and  re* 
mained  with  him  till  he  quitted  school,  which  was  about 
three  years,  after  which,  the  schism  being  ended,  he  re- 
turned into  the  free-school,  and  continued  there  about  a 
year.  The  rudeness  of  a  great  school  was  particularly  dis- 
agreeable to  his  natural  disposition  ;  and  what  was  stilt 
worse,  he  began  now  to  be  much  troubled  with  the  bead* 
ach,  which  seems  to  have  been  constitutional  in  him ;  yet 
bis  uncommon  attention  to  his  book,  and  eagerness  to  im- 
prove, had  now  rendered  him  fit  for  the  university.  Ac* 
cordingly  he  was  sent  to  Cambridge,,  and  admitted  a  pen- 
sioner at  Sidney-college,  June  18r  1674,  in  the  sixteenth 
year  of  his  age.  Here  he  laboured  under  some  discourage- 
ments. He  was  come  up  a  country  l^d  from  a  country* 
school ;  had  no  acquaintance  in  his  college,  nor  even  in 
the  university;  few  books  or  materials  to  work  with;  his 
allowance  being  by  no  means  more  than  sufficient  for  bare 
necessaries  ;  neither  had  he  sufficient  confidence  to  supply 
that  defect  by  applying  to  others.     Add  to  this  that  hi$ 


WOLLASTON.  241  . 

state  of  health  was  not  quite  firm.  However,  under  ail 
these  disadvantages,  he  acquired  much  reputation,  and 
having  taken  his  degree  of  fi.  A.  at  the  regular  time,  he 
offered  himself  a  candidate  for  a  fellowship  in  his  college, 
but  missed  of  that  preferment.  In  July  1681  he  com- 
menced M.  A.  and  about  this  time  seems  to  have  entered 
into  deacon's  orders. 

On  Michaelmas-day  following,  be  left  the  university,  and 
having  made  a  visit  to  the  then  head  of  this  branch  of  the 
family,  his  cousin  Wollaston  of  Shenton  in  Leicestershire, 
be  went  to  pay  his  duty  to  his  father  and  mother  at  Blox- 
wyche,  where  they  then  lived,  and  remained  with  them  till 
May  or  June  1 682.  But  seeing  no  prospect  of  preferment, 
be  so  far  conformed  himself  to  the  circumstances  of  his 
family,  as  about  this  time  to  become  assistant  at  Birming- 
ham school  to  the  head  master,  who  readily  embraced' the 
opportunity  of  such  a  coadjutor,  and  considered  Mr.  Wollas- 
ton as  one  who  had  prudentially  stooped  to  an  employment 
beyond  what  he  might  reasonably  have  pretended  to.  This 
instance,  however,  of  his  humble  industry  was  far  from 
being  displeasing  to 'his  cousin  of  Shenton,  who  had  a  great 
esteem  for  the  head  master,  and  in  a  short  time,  he  got  a 
small  lecture  at  the  distance  of  about  two  miles  from  Bir- 
mingham ;  but  as  he  performed  there  the  whole  Sunday's 
duty,  that  fatigue,  added  to  the  business  of  a  great  free- 
school  for  about  four  years,  began  to  break  bis  constitution. 
But  the  old  master  being  now  turned  out,  in  order  to  make 
way  for  a  particular  person  to  succeed  him,  our  author  was 
chosen  second  master  only,  under  a  pretence  that  he  was 
too  young  to  be  at  the  head  of  so  great  a  school,  but  some  of 
the  governors  themselves  owned  that  he  was  not  well  used 
in  this  affair. 

However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  upon  this  occasion 
he  took  priest's  orders  in  pursuance  to  the  charter  of  that 
school,  which  being  interpreted  likewise  so  as  to  oblige 
the  masters  to  take  no  church-preferment,  he  resigned  his 
lecture.  This  happened  in  1686,  and  was  a  considerable 
relief  to  him,  while  his  new  post  was  worth  about  70/.  per 
annum,  which  afforded  him  a  tolerable  subsistence.  In  the 
mean  time  the  late  chief  master  after  his  expulsion  retired 
to  his  brother's  house,  which  lying  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Shenton,  he  once  or  twice  waited  upon  Mr.  Wollaston, 
of  Shenton,  and  undoubtedly  informed  him  of  the  charac- 
ter, learning,  conversation,  and  conduct  of  our  author, 

Vol.  XXXII.  R 


2*2  WOLLASTON. 

which  be  was  very  capable  of  doing,  because  they  lived 
together,  till  the  time  of  this  old  gentleman's  leaving  Bir- 
mingham. Mr.  Wollaston,  of  Sbenton,  having  now  lately 
lost  his  only  son,  and  never  intending  (as  appears  from  his 
whole  conduct)  to  give  his  estate  to  bis  daughters,  pursued 
his  father's  design  of  continuing  it  in  the  male  line  of  bis 
family,  and  resolved  to  settle  it  upon  our  author's  uncle 
and  father,  his  own  first  cousins,  and  his  nearest  male-re- 
lations, in  the  same  proportions  and  manner  exactly  as  it 
had  been  entailed  on  them  by  his  father.  And  accordingly 
he  made  such  a  settlement,  subject  however  to  a  revo- 
cation. 

Our  author  all  this  while  applied  himself  to  his  business  ; 
and  never  waited  upon  bis  cousin,  or  employed  any  one  to 
.  speak  or  act  in  his  behalf  (though  many  then  blamed  him 
for  neglecting  to  do  it) ;  only  one  visit  be  made  him  in  the 
November  before  his  death,  which  was  upon  a  Saturday  in 
the  afternoon.  He  gave  him  a  sermon  the  next  day,  re- 
ceived his  hearty  thanks,  aijd  the  next  morning  desired 
leave  to  return  to  the  duties  of  bis  station ;  without  speak- 
ing or  even  insinuating  any  thing  respecting  his  estate. 
His  cousin  dismissed  him  with  great  kindness ;  and  by  his 
looks  and  manner  seemed  to  have  a  particular  regard  for 
him,  but  discovered  nothing  of  his  intention  by  words. 
However,  he  used  to  employ  persons  privately  to  observe 
our  author's  behaviour  (who  little  suspected  any  such  mat- 
ter), and  his  behaviour  was  found  to  be  such,  that  the 
stricter  the  observations  were  upon  it,  the  more  they  turned 
to  his  advantage.  In  fine,  Mr.  Wollaston,  of  Shenton,  be* 
came  so  thoroughly  satisfied  of  our  author's-  merit,  that  be 
revoked  the  above-mentioned  settlement,  and  made  a  will 
in  his  favour.  In  August  following,  that  gentleman  fell 
sick,  and  sending  secretly  to  our  author  to  come  over  to 
him,  as  of  his  own  accord,  without  any  notice  of  his  illness, 
he  complied  with  the  message,  and  staid  some  days  at 
Shenton.  But  while  he  was  gone  home,  under  a  promise 
of  returning,  his  cousin  died,  August  19,  1688. 

By  bis  relation's  will,  Mr.  Wollaston  found  himself  in« 
titled  to  a  very  ample  estate ;  but  this  change,  sudd/en,  and 
advantageous  as  it  was  to  his  affairs,  wrought  no  change  in 
his  temper.  The  same  firmness  o(  mind,  which  had  sup- 
ported him  under  the  pressure  of  a  more  adverse  fortune, 
enabled,  him  to  bear  bis  prosperity  with  moderation.  In 
November  following  he  came  to  London,  and  about  a  year 


W  O  L  L  A  S  T  O  N.  243 

after,  on  the  26th  of  that  month,  1689,  he  married  miss 
Catherine  Charlton,  daughter  of  Mr.  Nicholas  Charlton, 
an  eminent  citizen  of  London,  a  fine  woman  with  a  good 
fortune,  and  an  excellent  character.  With  "this  lady  he 
settled  in  Charter-house  square,  in  a  private,  retired,  and 
studious  life.  His  carriage  was  nevertheless  free  and  open. 
He  aimed  at  solid  and  real  content,  rather  than  show  and 
grandeur,  and  manifested  his  dislike  of  power  and  dignity, 
by  refusing  one  of  the  highest  preferments  in  the  church, 
when  it  was  offejfed  to  him. 

He  had  now  books  and  leisure,  and  he  was  resolved  to 
make  use  of  them.  He  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
elementary  parts  of  learning,  and  with  the  learned  lan- 
guages, Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  Arabic,  &c.  He  thought 
it  necessary  to  ajld  to  these  such  a  degree  of  philology  and 
criticism  as  seemed  likely  to  be  useful  to  him  :  and  also 
mathematical  sciences,  or  at  least  the  fundamentals  of 
them ;  the  general  philosophy  of  nature :  the  history  and 
antiquities  of  the  more  known  and  noted  states  and  king- 
doms ;  and  in  order  to  attain  the  knowledge  of  true  reli- 
gion, and  the  discovery  of  truth,  the  points  which  he  al- 
ways had  particularly  in  view,  and  to  which  he  chiefly  di- 
rected all  bis  studies,  he  diligently  inquired  into  the  ido- 
latries of  the  heathens ;  and  made  himself  master  of  the 
sentiments,  rites,  and  learning  of  the  Jews ;  the  history  of 
the  first  settlement  of  Christianity,  and  the»opinions  and 
practice  introduced  into  it  since.  In  the  mean  time  he 
exercised  and  improved  his  mind  by  using  himself  to  clear 
images,  observing  the  influence  and  extent  of  axioms,  the 
nature  and  force  of  consequence's,  and  the  method  of  in- 
vestigating truth.  In  general,  he  accustomed  himself  to 
much  thinking  as  well  as  much  reading.  He  likewise  de- 
lighted in  method  and  regularity  :  and  chose  to  have  his 
labours  and  refreshments  periodical,  and  that  his  family  and 
friends  should  observe  the  proper  seasons  of  their  revolu- 
tion. He  was  most  remarkably  cheerful  and  lively  in  con- 
versation, which  rendered  his  company  agreeable,  and  him*- 
self  worthy  to  be  courted  by  the  learned  and  virtuous.  But 
a  general  acquaintance  was  what  he  never  cultivated,  and 
it  grew  (as  is  mostly  the  case)  more  and  more  his  aversion, 
so  that  he  passed  his  days  principally  at  home,  with  a  few 
friends,  with  whom  he  could  enjoy  an  agreeable  relaxation 
of  mind,  and  receive  all  the  advantages  of  a  sincere  and 
epen  friendship. 


244  W  O  L  L  A  S  T  O  N. 

Having  thus  fixed  bis  resolution  to  deserve  honours,  but 
not  to  wear  them,  it  was  not  long  before  he  published  a 
piece  entitled,  "  Th6  Design  of  Part  of  the  Book  of  Eccle- 
siastes,  or  the  Unreasonableness  of  Man's  restless  Conten- 
tions for  the  present  Enjoyments,  represented  in  an  Eng- 
lish poem,"  in  8vo.  But  as  he  had  never  made  poetry  his 
study,  he  was  very  sensible  of  the  defects  of  this  attempt, 
and  was  afterward  very  desirous  to  suppress  it.  This  poem 
was  printed  in  1690.  Notwithstanding  be  declined  to  ac- 
cept of  any  public  employment,  yet  his  studies  were  de- 
signed to  be  of  public  use,  and  his  solitude  was  far  from 
being  employed  in  vain  and  trifling  amusements,  termina- 
ting in  himself  alone.  But  neither  in  this  last  view,  could 
his  retirement  be  without  some  inconveniences.  His  inti- 
mates were  dropping  off,  and  their  places  remained  unsup- 
plied;  his  own  infirmities  were  increasing;  the  frequent 
remission  of  study,  growing  more  and  more  necessary ;  and 
his  solitude  at  the  same  time  becoming  less  and  less  agree- 
able, for  want  of  that  conversation  which  had  hithertp  sup- 
ported it. 

It  was  but  a  short  time  before  his  death  that  he  pub- 
lished his  celebrated  treatise,  entitled  "  The  Religion  of 
Nature  delineated."  He  appears  at  first  to  have  doubted 
the  success  of  this  work,  and  in  1722  printed  only  a  few 
copies  for  the  use  of  bis  friends,  but  when  prevailed  upon 
to  publish  it,  it  was  so  much  approved  that  upwards  of 
10,000  copies  were  sold  in  a  few  years;  and  it  has  in  all 
passed  through  eight  or  nine  editions,  five  of  which  were 
in  quarto. 

Of  the  ingenuity,  of  this  work  as  a  composition  no  doubts 
have  been  entertained,  but  its  tendency  was  soon  thought 
liable  to  suspicion.  Some  objected  that  he  had  injured 
Christianity  by  laying  too  much  stress  upon  the  obligations 
of  truth,  reason,  and  virtue ;  and  by  making  no  mention 
of  revealed  religion,  nor  even  so  much  as  dropping  the 
least  and  most  distant  hints  in  its  favour.  This  made  him 
pass  for  an  unbeliever  with  some ;  and  the  late  lord  Bo- 
lingbroke  supposes  Dr.  Clarke  to  have  had  him  iti  his  eye 
when  he  described  his  fourth  sort  of  theists.  Wollaston 
held  and  has  asserted  the  being  and  attributes  of  God,  na- 
tural and  moral ;  a  providence,  general  and  particular;  the 
obligations  to  morality ;  the  immateriality  and  immortality 
of  the  soul ;  a  future  state :  and  Clarke's  fourth  sort  of 
theists  held  and  asserted  the  same.     But  whether  Wollaston, 


WOLLASTON.  245 

like  those  theists,  rejected  all  above  this  in  the  system  of 
revelation,  cannot  with  any  certainty  be  concluded,  though 
at  the  same  time  the  contrary  perhaps  may  not  appear ; 
because,  whatever  might  have  been  thought  necessary  to 
prevent  offence  from  being  taken,  it  was  not  essential  to 
Wollaston's  design  to  meddle  with  revealed  religion.  In 
the  mean  time,  lord  Bolingbroke  has  treated  "  The  Reli- 
gion of  Nature  delineated,9'  as  a  system  of  theism  ;  which 
it  certainly  is,  whether  Wollaston  was  a  believer  or  not. 
His  lordship  calls  it  "  strange  theism,  as  dogmatical  and 
absurd  as  artificial  theology,"  and  has  spent  several  pages 
to  prove  it  so ;  yet  allows  the  author  of  it  to  have  been  "  a 
man  of  parts,  of  learning,  a  philosopher,  and  a  geometri- 
cian." The  seventh  edition  of  this  work  was  printed  in 
1750  in  8vo,  to  which  are  added  an  account  of  the  author, 
and  also  a  translation  of  the  notes  into  English.  There  is 
prefixed  an  advertisement  by  Dr.  John  Clarke,  late  dean  of 
Salisbury,  which  informs  us,  that  this  work  was  in  great 
esteem  with  her  late  majesty  queen  Caroline,  who  com- 
manded him  to  translate  the  notes  into  English  for  her  own 
use.  Pope,  who  has  taken  some  thoughts  from  it  into  his 
"  Essay  on  Man,"  informs  Mr.  Bethel  in  one  of  bis  letters 
how  much  this  work  was  a  favourite  with  the  ladies,  but 
accompanies  his  information  with  a  sneer  at  the  sex,  which 
we  dare  not  transcribe. 

Immediately  after  he  had  completed  the  revisal  and  pub- 
lication of  his  "  Religion  of  Nature  delineated,"  Mr.  Wol- 
laston had  the  misfortune  to  break  his  arm  ;  and  as  his 
health  was  before  in  a  very  infirm  state,  this  accident  ac- 
celerated his  death,  which  happened  Oct.  29,  1724.  He 
was  interred  in  Great  Finborough  church,  Suffolk,  in  the 
same  grave  with  his  wife,  who  died  in  1720. 

He  had  begun  seVeral  other  works,  but  they  being  in  an 
unfinished  state,  he  had  burnt,  or  ordered  them  to  be 
burnt,  some  time  before  his  death.  The  following,  how- 
ever, happened  to  be  spared;  but  from  the  place  in  which 
they  were  deposited,  and  from  some  other  circumstances, 
it  is  probable  that  they  owed  their  escape  to  mere  forget- 
ful ness.  They  were  in  number  thirteen  (besides  about 
fourscore  sermons)  viz.  1.  "An  Hebrew  Grammar."  2. 
a  Tyrocinia  Arabica  &  Syriaca."  3.  "  Specimen  Voca- 
bularii  Biblico-Hebraici,  Uteris  nostratibus,  quantum  fert 
Linguarum  dissonantia,  descripti."  4.  "  Formulas  quae- 
dam  Gemarinae."     5.  "  De  variis  generibus"  pedum,  me- 


846  WOLLASTON, 

trorum,  earminum,  &c.  apad  Judaeos,  Graecos,  &  Latinos/* 
6.  "  De  Vocum  Tonis  Monitio  ad  Ty  rones."  7.  "  Rudi- 
roenta  ad  Mathesin  &  Philosophiam  spectantia."  S.  "  Mis- 
cellanea Philologica."  9.  Opinions  of  the  ancient  Philo- 
sophers. 10.  "  Judaica:  sive  Religionis  &  Literature  Ju- 
daicse  synopsis."  11.  A  collection  of  some  antiquities  and 
particulars  in  the  history  of  mankind;  tending  to  shew, 
that  men  have  not  been  here  upon  this  earth  from  eternity, 
&c.  12.  Some  passages  relating  to  the  history  of  Christ, 
collected  out  of  the  primitive  fathers.  13.  A  treatise  re- 
lating to  the  Jews,  of  their  antiquities,  language,  &c. 
What  renders  it  the  more  probable,  or  indeed  almost  be- 
yond doubt,  that  he  would  have  destroyed  these  likewise, 
if  he  had  remembered  them,  is,  that  several  of  those  which 
remain  undestroyed,  are  only  rudiments  or  rougher  sketches 
of  what  he  afterwards  reconsidered  and  carried  on  much 
farther;  and  which  even  after  such  revisal,  he  neverthe- 
less committed  to  the  flames,  as  being  still  (in  his  opinion) 
short  of  that  perfection,  to  which  he  desired  and  bad  in- 
tended to  bring  them,  and  accordingly  none  of  them  have 
appeared.1 

WOLSEY  (Thomas),  a  celebrated  cardinal  and  states- 
man, but  to  be  remembered  with  more  respect  as  a  bene- 
factor to  learning,  was  so  obscure  in  his  origin  that  scarcely 
any  historian  mentions  the  names  of  his  father  and  mother. 
Their  names,  however,  are  preserved  by  Rymer  (Feed.  vol. 
XIV.  p.  355),  in  the  pope's  bull  of  favours  to  those  who 
came  to  Cardinal  college  in  Oxford,  and  prayed  for  the 
safety  of  the  said  cardinal,  and  after  his  decease  for  the 
souls  of  him,  his  father  Robert,  and  bis  mother  Joan.  This 
partly  confirms  the  discovery  of  his  zealous  biographer,  Dr. 
Fiddes,  that  he  was  the  son  of  one  Robert  Wolsey,  a  but- 
cher of  Ipswich,  where  he  was  born  in  March  1471.  Fiddes 
says  that  this  Robert  had  a  son  whose  early  history  corre- 
sponds with  that  of  the  cardinal,  and  that  he  was  a  man  of 
considerable  landed  property.  We  may  from  other  evi- 
dence conclude  that  his  parents  were  either  not  poor,  or 
not  friendless,  since  they  were  able  to  give  him  the  best 
education  his  native  town  afforded,  and  afterwards  to  send 
him  to  Magdalen  college.  But  in  whatever  way  he  was  in- 
troduced here,  it  is  certain  that  his  progress  in  academical 

1  Life  prefixed  to  tbe  Religion  of  Nature,  many  particulars  of  which  are  take* 
from  a  narrative  drawn  up  by  himself,  and  printed  for  the  first  time  in  Mr.  Ni- 
ahols,a  "  Illustrations  of  Literature,"  vol.  L— J*iog.  Brit. 


WOLSEY.  247 

studies  was  so  rapid  that  he  was  admitted  to  the  degree  of 
bachelor  of  arts  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  from  this  ex- 
traordinary instance  of  precocity,  was  usually  named  the 
boy  bachelor. 

No  proofs  are  indeed  wanting  of 'his  uncommon  reputa- 
tion as  a  scholar,  for  he  was  elected  fellow  of  his  college 
toon  after  taking  his  bachelor's  degree,  and  proceeding  to 
that  of  master,  he  was  appointed  teacher  of  Magdalen 
grammar  school.  In  1498,  he  was  made  bursar  of  the 
college,  about  which  time  be  has  the  credit  of  building 
Magdalen  tower.  It  is  yet  more  in  proof  of  his  learning 
having  been  of  the  most  liberal  kind,  and  accompanied 
with  a  corresponding  liberality  of  sentiment,  that  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  Erasmus,  then  it  Oxford,  and  joined 
that  illustrious  scholar  in  promoting  classical  studies,  which 
were  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  bigotry  of  the  times.  The 
letters  whiph  passed  between  Wolsey  arid  Erasmus  for  some 
years  imply  mutual  respect  and  union  of  sentiment  on  all 
matters  in  which  literature  was  concerned ;  and  their  love 
of  learning,  and  contempt  for  the  monks,  although  this  last 
was  excited  by  different  motives,  are  points  in  which  we 
perceive  no  great  disagreement.  Yet  as  Erasmus  conti- 
nued to  live  the  life  of  a  mere  scholar,  precarious  and  de- 
pendent, and  Wolsey  was  rapidly  advancing  to  rank  and 
honours,  too  many  and  too  high  for  a  subject,  a  distance 
was  placed  between  them  which  Wolsey  would  not  shorten, 
and  Erasmus  could  not  pass.  Hence,  while  a  courteous 
familiarity  was  preserved  in  Wolsey* s  correspondence,  Eras- 
nrus  could  not' help  betraying  the  feelings  of  a  client  who 
has  received  little  more  than  promises  from  his  patron,  and 
when  Wolsey  fell  from  his  high  state,  Erasmus  joined  in 
the  opinion  that  he  was  unworthy  of  it.  For  this  he  is  se- 
verely censured  by  Fiddes,  and  ably  defended  by  Knight 
and  Jortin. 

Wolsey's  first  ecclesiastical  preferment  was  the  rectory 
of  Lymington  in  Somersetshire,  conferred  upon  him  in 
1500,  by  the  marquis  of  Dorset,  to  whose  three  sons  he 
had  acted  as  tutor,  when  in  Magdalen  college.  On  receiv- 
ing this  presentation  he  left  the  university,  and  resided  for 
some  time  on  his  cure,  when  a  singular  circumstance  in- 
duced, or  perhaps  rendered  it  absolutely  necessary  for  him 
to  leave  it.  At  a  merry  meeting  at  Lymington  he  either 
passed  the  bounds  of  sobriety,  or  was  otherwise  accessary 
in  promoting  a  riot,  for  which  sir  Amyas  Paulet,  a  justice 


24S  WOLSEY. 

of  peace,  set  him  in  the  stocks.  This  indignity  Wolsey 
remembered  when  it  would  have  been  honourable  as  well 
as  prudent  to  have  forgot  it.  After  he  had  arrived  at  the 
high  rank  of  chancellor,  he  ordered  sir  A  my  as  to  be  con* 
fined  withi/i  the  bounds  of  the  Temple,  and  kept  him  in 
that  place  for  five  or  six  years. 

On  his  quitting  Lymington,  though  without  resigning 
the  living,  Henry  Dean,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  made 
bim  ope  of  his  domestic  chaplains,  and  in  1503,  the  pope, 
Alexander,  gave  him  a  dispensation  to  bold  two  benefices. 
On  the  death  of  the  archbishop,  in  the  same  year,  he  was 
appointed  chaplain  to  sir  John  Nan  fan  of  Worcestershire, 
treasurer  of  Calais,  which  was  then  in  the  possession  of  the 
English,  and  by  him  recommended  to  Henry  VII.  who 
made  him  one  of  his  chaplains.  About  the  end  of  1504, 
he  obtained  from  pope  Julius  II.  a  dispensation  to  hold  a 
third  living,  the  rectory  of  Redgrave  in  Norfolk.  In  the 
mean  time  he  was  improving  bis  interest  at  court  by  an 
affable  and  plausible  address,  and  by  a  display  of  political 
talent,  and  quick  and  judicious  dispatch  in  business,  which 
rendered  him  very  useful  and  acceptable  to  his  sovereign, 
In  February  1508,  the  king  gave  him  the  deanery  of  Lin* 
coin,  and  two  prebends  in  the  same  church,  and  would 
probably  have  added  to  these  preferments  had  be  not  been 
prevented  by  his  death  in  the  following  year. 

This  event,  important  as  it  was  to  the  kingdom,  was  of 
no  disadvantage  to  Wolsey,  who  saw  in  the  young  king, 
Henry  VlII.  a  disposition  that  might  be  rendered  mpre  fa- 
vourable to  bis  lofty  views ;  yet  what  bis  talents  might  have 
afterwards  procured,  he  owed  at  this  time  to  a  court  in- 
trigue. Fox,  bishop  of  Winchester  and  founder  of  Cor- 
pus Christi  college,  introduced  bim  to  Henry,  in  order  to 
counteract  the  influence  of  the  earl  of  Surrey  (afterwards 
duke  of  Norfolk),  and  bad  probably  no  worse  intention 
than  to  preserve  a  balance  in  the  council;  but  Wolsey, 
who  was  not  destined  to  play  a  subordinate  part,  soon  rose 
higher  in  influence  than  either  his  patron  or  bis  opponent. 
He  studied,  with  perfect  knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  to 
please  the  young  king,  fyy  joining  in  indulgencies  which, 
however  suitable  to  the  gaiety  of  a  court,  were  i)l  becoming 
the  character  of  an  ecclesiastic.  Yet  amidst  the  luxuries 
which  he  promoted  in  bis  royal  master,  he  did  not  neglect 
to  inculcate  maxims  of  state,  and,  above  all,  to  insinuate,  in 
9  manner  that  appeared  equally  dutiful  and  disinterested, 


W  O  L  S  E  Y.  249 

the  advantages  of  a  system  of  favouritism,  which  he  se- 
cretly  hoped  would  one  day  center  in  his  own  person.  Nor 
was  he  disappointed,  as  for  some  time  after  this,  his  bis* 
tory,  apart  from  what  share  he  had  in  the  public  councils, 
is  little  more  than  a  list  of  promotions  following  each  other 
with  a  rapidity  that  alarmed  the  courtiers,  and  inclined  the 
people,  always  jealous  of  sudden  elevations,  to  look  back 
on  his  origin. 

In  this  rise,  he  was  successively  made  almoner  to  the 
king,  a  privy  counsellor,  and  reporter  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  Star-chamber;  rector  of  Turrington  in  the  diocese 
of  Exeter,  canon  of  Windsor,  registrar  of  the  order  of  the 
garter,  and  prebendary  and  dean  of  York.  From  these  he 
passed  on  to  become  dean  of  Hereford,  and  precentor  of 
St  Paul's,  both  of  which  he  resigned  on  being  preferred 
to  the  bishopric  of  Lincoln ;  chancellor  <of  the  order  of  the 
garter,  and  bishop  of  Tournay  in  Flanders,  which  he  held 
until  1518,  when  that  city  was  delivered  up  to  the  French, 
but  he  derived  from  it  afterwards  an  annual  pension  of 
twelve  thousand  livres*.  In  1514,  he  was  consecrated 
bishop  of  Lincoln,  in  the  room  of  Smyth,  founder  of  Bra- 
sen-nose  college,  and  was  chosen  chancellor  of  the  univer- 
sity of  Cambridge.  The  same  year  be  was  promoted  to 
the  archbishopric  of  York*  and  created  cardinal  of  St.  Ce- 
cilia. 

Yet  in  the  plenitude  of  that  political  influence  which  be 
now  maintained  to  the  exclusion  of  the  ancient  nobility  and 
courtiers,  it  appears  that  for  some  time  he  preserved  the 
peace  of  the  country,  by  a  strict  administration  of  justice, 
and  by  a  punctuality  in  matters  of  finance,  which  admitted 
no  very  unfavourable  comparisons  between  him  and  his 
predecessors.  Perhaps  the  splendour  and  festivities  which 
be  encouraged  in  the  court  might,  by  a  diffusion  of  the 
royal  wealth  among  the  public,  contribute  tb  a  certain  de- 
gree of .  popularity,  especially  when  contrasted  with  the 
more  economical  habits  encouraged  by  Henry  VII.  It  was 
not  until  he  established  his  legantine  court,  a  species' of 
English  popedom,  that  the  people  had  reason  to  complain 
•of  a  vast  and  rapacious  power,  unknown  to  the  constitution, 
boundless  in  its  capricious  decrees,  and  against  which  there 
was  no  redress.     This  court,  however,  could  not  have  in- 

*  Br,  Fiddes  allows  that  this  piece     been  neither  legally  nor  ecclesiastically 
of  preferment  partook  of  usurpation,     deprived. 
as  the  former  bishop  of  Tournay  had 


250  WOLSE  Y. 

flicted  many  public  injuries/  as  it  formed  no  part  of  tfce 
complaints  of  parliament  against  him,  when  complaints 
might  have  been  preferred  with  safety,  and  would  have 
been  welcomed  from  any  quarter.  At  that  time,  the  le- 
gality-of  the  power  was  called  in  question,  but  not  the 
exercise  of  it. 

In  the  private  conduct  of  this  extraordinary  man,  while 
in  the  height  of  his  prosperity,  we  find  a  singular  mixture 
of  personal  pride  and  public  munificence.  While  bis  train 
of  servants  rivalled  that  of  the  king,  and  was  composed  of 
many  persons  of  rank  and  distinction,  his  house  was  a 
school  where  their  sons  were  usefully  educated,  and  ini- 
tiated in  public  life.  And  while  he  was  dazzling  the  eyes, 
or  insulting  the  feelings  of  the  people  by  an  ostentation  of 
gorgeous  furniture  and  equipage,  such  as  exceeded  the 
royal  establishment  itself,  he  was  a  general  and  liberal  pa- 
tron of  literature,  a  man  of  consummate  taste  in  works  of 
art,  elegant  in  his  plans,  and  boundless  in  his  expences  to 
execute  them  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  luxurious  pleasures  and 
pompous  revellings,  he  was  meditating  the  advancement  of 
science  by  a  munificent  use  of  those  riches  which  he  seemed 
to  accumulate  only  for  selfish  purposes. 

In  the  mean  time,  there  was  no  intermission  in  his  pre- 
ferments. His  influence  was  courted  by  the  pope,  who  bad 
made  him  a  cardinal,  and,  in  1516,  his  legate  in  England, 
with  powers  not  inferior  to  his  own;  and  by  the  king  of 
Spain,  who  granted  him  a  pension  of  three  thousand  livres, 
while  the  duchy  of  Milan  bestowed  on  him  a  yearly  grant 
of  ten  thousand  ducats.  On  the  resignation  of  archbishop 
Warham,  he  was  appointed  lord  high  chancellor.  "  If  this 
new  accumulation  of  dignity,"  says  Home,  "  increased  his 
enemies,  it  also  served  to  exalt  his  personal  character,  and 
prove  the  extent  of  his  capacity.  A  strict  administration 
of  justice  took  place  during  bis  enjoyment  of  this  high 
office ;  •  and  no  chancellor  ever  discovered  greater  impar- 
tiality in  bis  decisions,  deeper  penetration  of  judgment,  or 
more  enlarged  knowledge  of  law  or  equity ." 

In  1518,  he  attended  queen  Catherine  to  Oxford,  and 
intimated  to  the  university  his  intention  of  founding  lec- 
tures on  theology,  civil  law,  physic,  philosophy,  mathema- 
tics, rhetoric,  Greek,  and  Latin  ;  and  in  the  following  year 
three  of  these,  viz.  for  Greek,  Latin,  and  rhetoric,  were 
founded  and  endowed  with  ample  salaries,  and  read  in  the 
hall  of  Corpus  Chtisti  college.     He-  appointed  fpr  his  lee- 


W  O  L  S  E  Y.  251 

t 

tures  the  ablest  scholars  whom  the.  university  afforded,  or 
whom  he  could  invite  from  the  continent  The  members 
of  the  convocation,  about,  this  time,  conferred  upon  him 
the  highest  mark  of  their  esteem  by  a  solemn  decree  that 
he  should  have  the  revisal  and  correction  of  tfre  Oniversity 
statutes  in  the  most  extensive  sense,  and  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  they  had  any  reason  to  repent  of  this  extraordi- 
nary instance  of  their  confidence.  The  same  power  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  the  university  of  Cambridge,  and 
in  both  cases,  was  accompanied  by  documents  which  proved 
the  very  high  opinion  entertained  by  these  learned  bodies 
of  his  fitness  to  reform  what  was  amiss  in  the  republic  of 
letters. 

In  the  same  year  the  pope  granted  him  the  administra- 
tion of  the  bishopric  of  Bath  and  Wells,  and  the  king  be- 
stowed on  him  its  temporalities.  This  see,  with  those  of 
Worcester  and  Hereford,  which  the  cardinal,  likewise 
farmed,  were  filled  by  foreigners  who  were  allowed  non- 
residence,  and  compounded  for  this  indulgence  by  yield- 
ing a  share  of  the  revenues.  The  cardinal's  aid,  about 
this  time,  in  establishing  the  College  of  Physicians  of  Lon- 
don, is  to  be  recorded  among  the  many  instances  of  the 
very  liberal  views  he  entertained  of  every  improvement 
connected  with  literature.  In  1521,  he  evinced  his  zeal 
against  the  reformation  which  Luther  had  begun,  by  pro- 
curing bis  doctrines  to  be  condemned  in  an  assembly  of 
divines  held  at  his  own  house,  published  pope  Leo's  bull 
against  him,  and  endeavoured  to  suppress  his  writings  in 
this  kingdom ;  but  there  is  no  favourable  part  of  his  cha- 
racter so  fully  established  as  his  moderation  towards  the 
English  Lutherans,  for  one  article  of  bis  impeachment  was 
his  being  remiss  in  punishing  heretics,  and  showing  a  dis- 
position rather  to  screen  them. 

In  the  same  year,  he  received  the  rich  abbey  of  St.  AI- 
ban's  to  hold  in  commendam,  and  soon  after  went  abroad 
on  an  embassy.  About  this  time  also,  he  became  a  candi- 
date for  the  papal  chair,  on  the  demise  of  Leo  X.  but  wat 
not  successful.  This  disappointment,  however,  was  com- 
pensated in  some  degree  by  the  emperor,  who  settled  a 
pension  on  him  of  nine  thousand  crowns  of  gold,  and  by 
the  bishopric  of  Durham,  to  which  he  was  appointed  in 
1523.  On  this  he  resigned  the  administration  of  Bath  and 
Wells.  The  same  year  he  issued  a  mandate  to  remove 
the  convocation  of  the  province  of  Canterbury  from  St* 


2*2  W  O  L  S  E  Y. 

Paul's  to  Westminster,  one  of  bis  most  unpopular  acts,  but 
which  appears  to  have  been  speedily  reversed.  On  the 
■death  of  pope  Adrian  he  made  a  second  unsucdessful  at- 
tempt to  be  elected  pope;  but  while  he  failed  in  this,  he 
received  from  his  rival  a  confirmation  of  the  whole  papal 
authority  in  England. 

In  1524,  he  intimated  to  the  university  of  Oxford  his 
design  of  founding  a  college  there,  and  soon  commenced 
that  great  work.  About  two  years  after  he  founded  his 
school*,  or  college,  as  it  has  been  sometimes  called,  at 
Ipswich,  as  a  nursery  for  his  intended  college  at  Oxford, 
and  this  for,  a  short  time  is  said  to  have  rivalled  the  schools 
of  Winchester  and  Eton.  As  he  mixed  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nity with  all  his  learned  institutions,  he  appointed  here  a 
dean,  twelve  canons,  and  a  numerous  choir.  At  the  same 
time  he  sent  a  circular  address  to  the  schoolmasters  of  Eng- 
land, recommending  them  to  teach  their  youth  the  elernents 
of  elegant  literature,  literatura  eleganlissirjta,  and  prescribed 
the  use  of  Lily's  grammar. 

Of  the  immense  riches  which  he  derived  from  his  vari- 
ous  preferments,  some  were  no  doubt  spent  in  luxuries 
which  left  only  a  sorrowful  remembrance,  but  the  greater 
part  was  employed  in  those  magnificent  edifices  which 
have  immortalized  his  genius  and  spirit.  In  1514  he  be- 
gan to  build  the  palace  at  Hampton  Court,  and  having 
finished  it,  with  all  its  sumptuous  furniture,  in  1528,  he 
presented  it  to  the  king,  who  in  return  gave  him  the  pa- 
lace of  Richmond  for  a  residence.  In  this  last  mentioned 
year,*  he  acceded  to  the  bishopric  of  Winchester  by  the 
death  of  Fox,  and  resigned  that  of  Durham.  To  Winches- 
ter, however,  he  never  went.  That  reverse  of  fortune 
which  has  exhibited  him  as  an  example  of  terror  to  the 
ambitious,  was  now  approaching,  and  was  accelerated  by 
•events,  the  consequences  of  which  he  foresaw,  without  the 
power  of  averting  them.  Henry,  was  now  agitated  by  a 
passion  not  to  be  controuled  by  the  whispers  of  friendship, 
pr  the  counsels  of  statesmen,  and  when  the  cardinal,  whom 
he  had  appointed  to  forward  his  divorce  from  queen  Ca- 
therine and  his  marriage  with  Anne  Boleyn,  appeared  tar- 

dily  to  adhere  to  forms,  or  scrupulously  to  interpose  ad* 

• 

*  On  the  site  of  the  priory  of  St.  for  this   school  was  discontinued  on 

Peter's,  which  was  surrendered  to  the  the  cardinal's  fall.      The  foundation 

cardinal,    March  6,  1537.    Dr.  Wil-  stone    is   now    preserved    in    Christ 

liana  Capon  was  first  and  last  dean,  Church. 


W  O  L  S  E  Y.  253 

vice,  he  determined  to  make  him  feel  the  weight  of  his 
resentment.  It  happened  unfortunately  for  the  cardinal 
that  both  the  queen  and  her.  rival  were  his  enemies,  the 
queen  from  a  suspicion  that  she  never  had  a  cordial  friend 
in  him,  and  Anne  from  a  knowledge  that  be  had  secretly 
endeavoured  to  prevent  her  match  with  the  king.  But  a 
initiate  detail  of  these  transactions  and  intrigues  belongs 
to  history,  in  which  they  occupy  a  large  space.  It  may 
suffice  here  to  notice  that  the  cardinal's  ruin,  when  once 
determined,  was  effected  in  the  most  sudden  and  rigorous 
manner,  and  probably  without  his  previous  knowledge  of 
the  violent  measures  that  were  to  be  taken. 

On  the  first  day  of  term,  Oct.  9,  1529,  while  he  was 
opening  the  Court  of  Chancery  at  Westminster,  the  at- 
torney-general indicted  him  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench, 
on  the  statute  of  provisors,  16  Richard  II.  for  procuring  a 
bull  from  Rome  appointing  him  legate,  contrary  to  the 
statute,  by  which  he  had  incurred  a  pramunire>  and  for- 
feited all  his  goods  to  the  king,  and  might' be  imprisoned. 
Before  be  could  give  in  any  reply  to  this  indictment,  the 
king  sent  to  demand  the  great  seal  from  him,  which  w£s 
given  to  sir  Thomas  More.  He  was  then  ordered  to  leave 
York-place,  a  palace  which  had  for  some  centuries  been 
the  residence  of  the  archbishops  of  York,  and  which  he 
had  adorned  with  furniture  of  great  value  and  magnifi- 
cence :  it  now  became  a  royal  residence  under  the  name 
of  Whitehall.  Before  leaving  this  place  to  go  to  Esher, 
near  Hampton  Court,  .a  seat  belonging  to  the  bishopric  of 
Winchester,  he  made  an  inventory  of  the  furniture,  plate, 
&c.  of  York-place,  which  is  said  to  have  amounted  to  the 
incredible  sum  of  five  hundred  thousand  crowns,  or  pounds 
of  our  money.  He  then  went  to  Putney  by  water,  and 
set  out  on  the  rest  of  his  journey  on  his  mule,  but  he  had 
not  gone  far  before  he  was  met  by  a  messenger  from  the 
king,  with  a  gracious  message,  assuring  him  that  he  stood 
as  high  as  ever  in  the  royal  favour,  and  this  accompanied 
by  a  ring,  which  the  king  had  been  accustomed  to  send,  as 
a  token  to  give  credit  to  the  bearer.  Wolsey  received  these 
testimonials  with  the  humblest  expression  of  gratitude,  but 
proceeded  on  his  way  to  Esher,  which  he  found  quite  un- 
furnished. The  king's  design  by  this  solemn  mockery  is 
not  easily  conjectured.  It  is  most  probable  that  it  was  a 
trick  to  inspire  the  cardinal  with  hopes  of  being  restored 
to  favour,  and  consequently  to  prevent  his  defending  him* 


25*  W  O  L  S  EY. 

self  in  the  prosecution  upon  the  statute  of  provisors,  which 
Henry  knew  he  could  da  hy  producing  his  letters  patent 
authorising  him  to  accept  the  pope's  bulls.  And  this  cer- 
tainly was  the  consequence,  for  the  Cardinal  merely  in- 
structed his  attorney  to  protest  in  his  name  that  he  was 
quite  ignorant  of  the  above  statute ;  but  that  he  acknow- 
ledged other  particulars  with  which  be  was  charged  to  be 
true,  and  submitted  himself  to  the  king's  mercy.  The  sen- 
tence of  the  court  was,  that  "he  was  out  of  the  protection, 
and  his  lands,  goods,  and  chattels  forfeit,  and  his  person 
might  be'&eized." 

The  next  step  to  complete  his  ruin  was  taken  by  the 
duke  of  Norfolk  and  the  privy  counsellors,  who  drew  up 
articles  against  him,  and  presented  them  to  the  king;  but 
he  stilt  affecting  to  take  no  personal  concern  in  the  matter, 
remained  silent.  Yet  these  probably  formed  the  basis  of 
the  forty r four  articles  presented  December  I,  to  the  House 
of  Lords,  as  by  some  asserted,  or,  according  to  other  ac- 
counts, by  the  lords  of  the  council  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. Many  of  them  are  evidently  frivolous  or  false,  and 
others,  although  true,  were  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  House..  The  cardinal  had,  in  fact,  already  suffered,  as 
'  his  goods  had  been  seized  by  the  king ;  he  was  now  in  a 
pramunirc,  and  the  House  could  not  go  much  farther  than 
to  recommend  what  had  already  taken  place.  The  car- 
dinal, however,  fouhd  one  friend  amidst  all  his  distresses, 
who  was  not  to  be  alarmed  either  at  the  terrors  of  the 
court  or  of  the  people.  This  was  Thomas  Cromwell,  for- 
merly Wolsey's  steward  (afterwards  earl  of  Essex),  who 
now  refuted  the  articles  with  so  much  spirit,  eloquence, 
and  argument,  that  although  a  very  opposite  effect  might 
have  been  expected,  his  speech  is  supposed  to  have  laid 
the  foundation  of  that  favour  which  the  king  afterwards 
extended  to  him,  but  which,  at  no  very  distant  period, 
proved  as  fatal  to  him  as  it  had  been  to  his  master.  His 
eloquence  had  a  yet  more  powerful  effect,  for  the  address 
founded  on  these  articles  was  rejected  by  the  Commons, 
and  the  Lords  could  not  proceed  farther  without  their  con- 
currence. 

During  the  cardinal's  residence  at  Esher  the  king  sent 
several  messages  to  him/  "  some  good  and  some  bad," 
says  Cavendish,  "  but  more  ill  than  good,"  until  this  tan- 
talizing correspondence,  operating  on  a  mind  of  strong 
passions,  brought  on,  about  the  end  of  the  year,  a  sickness 


WOLSEV,  255 

which  w&s  represented  to  the  king  as  being  apparently 
fatal.  The  king  ordered  his  physician,  Dr.  Butts,  to  visit 
him,  who  confirmed  what  had  been  reported  of  the  dan* 
gerous  state  of  his  health,  but  intiihated  that  as  his  disease 
affected  his  mind  rather  than  his  body,  a  kind  word  from 
his  majesty  might  prove  more  effectual  than  the  best  skill 
of  the  faculty.  On  this  the  king  sent  him  a  ring,  with  a 
gracious  message  that  be  was  not  offended  with  him  in  his 
heart ;  and  Anne  Boleyn  sent  him  a  tablet  of  gold  that  . 
usually  hung  at  her  side,  with  many  kind  expressions* 
The  cardinal  received  these  testimonies  of  returning  favour 
with  joy  and  gratitude,  and  in  a  few  d?y&  was  pronounced 
out  of  danger. 

Nor  can  we  blame  Wolsey  for  his  credulity,  since  Hen- 
ry, although  he  had  stripped  the  cardinal  of  all  his  pro- 
perty,  and  the  income  arising  from  all  his  preferments, 
actually  granted  him,  Feb.  12,  1530,  a  free  pardon  for  all 
crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  a  few  days  after  restored  to 
him  the  revenues,  &c.  of  the  archbishopric  of  York,  ex- 
cept York  place,  before- mentioned,  and  one  thousand 
marks  yearly  from  the  bishopric  of  Winchester.  He  also 
sent  him  a  present  of  3000/.  in  money,  and  a  quantity  of 
plate  and  furniture  exceeding  that  sum,  and  allowed  him 
to  remove  from  Esher  to  Richmond,  where  he  resided  for 
some  time  in  the  lodge  in  the  old  park,  and  afterwards  in 
the  priory.  His  enemies  at  court,  however,  who  appear 
to  have  influenced  the  king  beyond  his  usual  arbitrary  dis- 
position, dreaded  Wolsey *s  being  so  near  his  majesty,  and 
prevailed  on  him  to  order  him  to  reside  in  his  archbishop- 
ric. Jn  obedience  to  this  mandate,  which  was  softened  by 
another  gracious  message  from  Henry,  he  first  went  to  the 
archbishop's  seat  at  Southwell,  and  about  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember fixed  his  residence  at  Cawood  castle,  which  he 
began  to  repair,  and  was  acquiring  popularity  by  his  hos- 
pitable manners  and  bounty,  when  his  capricious  master  was 
persuaded  to  arrest  him  for  high  treason,  and  order  him  to 
be  conducted  to  London.  Accordingly,  on  the  first  of 
November  he  set  out,  but  on  the  road  he  was  seized  with 
a  disorder  of  the  dysenteric  kind,  brought  on  by  fatigue 
and  anxiety,  which  put  a  period  to  bis  life  at  Leicester 
abbey  on  the  28th  of  that  montl},  in  the  fifty-ninth  year 
of  his  age  *.     Some  of  his  last  words  implied  the  awful  and 

•  The  cardinal  bad  a  bastard  son     Pont.  Rom.  dilecti  filio  Thoroae  Wulcy 
•ailed  Thomas  Winter*    "  Bulla  J  alii     Rectori  parocb.  Eccl'iw  de  Lymyngtoa 


256  W  0  L  S  E  Y. 

just  reflection,  that  if  be  had  served  his  God  as  diligently 
as  be  had  served  his  Jcing,  he  would  not  have  given  him 
over  to  his  enemies.  Two  days  after  he  was  interred  in 
the  abbey  church  of  Leicester,  but  the  spot  is  not  now 
known.  As  to  the  report  of  his  having  poisoned  himself, 
founded  on  an  expression  in  the  printed  work  of  Cavendish, 
it  has  been  amply  refuted  by  a  late  eminent  antiquary,  who 
examined  the  whole  of  the  evidence  with  much  acuteness*. 
Modern  historians  have  formed  a  more  favourable  esti- 
mate of  Wolsey's  character  than  their  predecessors,  yet  it 
bad  that  mixture  of  good  and  evil  which  admits  of  great 
variety  of  opinion,  and  gives  to  ingenious  party-colouring 
all  the  appearance  of  truth.  Perhaps  Shakspeare,  borrow- 
ing from  Holinshed  and  Hall,  has  drawn  a  more  just  and 
comprehensive  sketch  of  his  perfections  and  failings  than  is 
to  be  found  in  any  other  writer. 

' «  This  cardinal, 

Though  from  an  humble  stock,  undoubtedly 

Was  fashioned  to  much  honour.    From  his  cradle 

He  was  a  scholar,  and  a  ripe  and  good  one ; 

Exceeding  wise,  fair  spoken,  and  persuading  -, 

Lofty  and  sour  to  them  that  lov'd  him  not  j 

But  to  those  men  that  sought  him,  sweet  as  summer. 

And  though  he  was  unsatisfy'd  in  getting, 

(Which  was  a  sin)  yet  in  bestowing,  madam,  ' 

He  was  most  princely :  Ever  witness  for  him 

Those  twins  of  learning  that  he  raised  in  you, 

Ipswich  and  Oxford !  one  of  which  fell  with  him, 

Unwilling  to  Outlive  the  good  that  did  it ; 

The  other,  though  unfinished,  yet  so  famous, 

So  excellent  in  art,  and  still  so  rising, 

That  Christendom  shall  ever  speak  his  virtue. 

His  overthrow  heap'd  happiness  upon  him  ; 

For  then,  and  not  till  then,  he  felt  himself, 

And  found  the  blessedness  of  being  little : 

And,  to  add  greater  honours  to  his  age 

Than  man  could  give  him,  he  died,  fearing  God  1 ." 

The  cardinal's  biographers,  in  treating  of  the  founda- 
tion of  his  college,  begin  with  a  very  laboured  defence  of 
his  seizing  the  property  and  revenues  of  many  priories  and 
nunneries,  which  were  to  serve  as  a  fund  for  building  and 

*  » 

Batho.  Well.  dioc.  M agist  rum  in  Ar  *  The  learned   Dr.  Samuel  Pegge.  * 

tibui  pro  Dispensatione  ad  tcfrtium  in?  See' Gent  Mag.  vol.  XXV.  p.  25,  and  - 

compatible,  dat.  Rome.    1508.   pud,  two  very  able  articles  on  the  cardinal's 

cat.  Aogusti  Pont,  n'ri  anno  quinto."  impeachment,  p.  299,  345. 

—Rennet's  MSS,  in  Brit.  Mu*.  oblig-  f  The  speech  af  the  "  honeat  chro- 

ingly  commuuicated  by  Mr.  Ellis.  nicler,  Griffith,"  to  queen  Katherine. 

Henry  VIII.  Act  IV.  Scene  H. 


W  O  L  S  E  Y.  257 

endowment;  and  the  zeal  they  display  on  this  subject,  if 
it  cannot  now  enforce  conviction,  at  least  proves  the  histo- 
rical fact  that  the  rights  of  property  even  at  that  time  were 
not  to  be  violated  with  impunity  $  and  that  the  cardinal's 
conduct  was  highly  unpopular*  At  first  it  was  objected 
to  even  by  the  king  himself/  although  he  soon  afterwards 
converted  it  into  a  precedent  for  a  more  general  dissolu- 
tion of  religious  bouses.  Wolsey*  however*  ought  not  to 
be  deprived  of  such  defence  as  has  been  set  up.  It  has 
been  urged,  that  he.  procured  bulls  from  the  pope  em- 
powering him  to  seize  on  these  priories;  and  that  the 
pope,  according  to  the  notions  then  entertained  of  his  su* 
premacy,  could  grant  a  power  by  which  religious  houses 
might  be  converted  into  societies  for  secular  priests,  and 
for  the  advancement  of  learning.  It  has  been  also  pleaded* 
that  the  cardinal  did  not  alienate  the  revenues  from  reli- 
gious service,  but  only  made  a  change  in  the  application 
of  them ;  that  the  appropriation  of  the  alien  priories  by 
Chichele  and  Waynftete  was  in  some  respects  a  precedent, 
and  that  the  suppression  of  the  Ternplers  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  might  also  be  quoted.  Bishop  Tanner  likewise, 
in  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Charlett,  quotes  as  precedents, 
bishops  Fisher,  Alcdck,  and  Beckington.  But  perhaps  the 
best  excuse  is  that  hinted  by  lord  Cherbury,  namely,  that 
Wolsey  persuaded  the  king  to  abolish  unnecessary  mo- 
nasteries that  necessary  colleges  might  be  erected,  and 
the  progress  of  the  reformation  impeded  by  the  learning 
of  the  clergy  and  scholars  educated  in  them.  The  same 
writer  suggests,  that  as  .Wolsey  pleaded  for  the  dissolution 
of  only  the  small  and  superfluous  houses,  the  king  might 
not  dislike  this  as  a  fair  experiment  how  far  the  project  of 
a  general  dissolution  would  be  relished.  On  the  other 
hand,  by  two -letters  still  extant,  written  by  the  king,  it 
^  appears  that  be  was  fully  aware  of  the  unpopularity  of  the 
measure,  although  we  cannot  infer  from  them  that  he  had 
any  remedy  to  prescribe. 

Whatever  weight  these  apologies  had  with  one  part  of  . 
the  public,  we  are  assured  that  they  had  very  little  with 
another,  and  that  the  progress  of  the  college  was  accom- 
panied by  frequent  expressions  of  popular  dislike  in  the 
shape  of  lampoons.  The  kitchen  having  been  first  finished, 
one  of  the  satirists  of  the  day  exclaimed,  Egregium  opus  I 
Cardindis  iste  instituit  Collegium  et  absolvit  popinam.  Other 

Vol.  XXXIL  S 


25S  W  O  L  S  £  Y. 

mock  inscriptions  wfcre  placed  on  the  wails,  one  of  whirl* 
at  least,  proved  prophetic  : 

"  Non  stabit  ilia  domus,  alits  fundata  rapmis, 
A»t  ruet,  aut  alter  raptor  habebit  earn.'* 

By  two  bulls,  the  one  dated  1524,  the  other  1525,  WoU 
soy  obtained  of  pope  Clement  VII.  leave  to  enrich  his  coU 
lege  by  suppressing  twenty-two  priories  and  nunneries,  the 
revenues  of  which  were  estimated  at  nearly  2000/.;  but  on 
hi*  disgrace  some  of  these  were  given  by  the  king  for  other 
purposes.  The  king's  patent,  after  a  preface  paying  high 
compliments  to  the  cardinal's  administration,  enables  him 
to  build  his  college  principally  on  the  site  of  the  priory  of 
St.  Frideswide ;  and  the  name,  originally  intended  to  be 
"  The  College  of  Secular  Priests*"  was  now  changed  to 
Cardjnal  College.  The  secular  clergy  in  it  were  to  be 
denominated  the  "  dean  and  canons  secular  of  the  cardinal 
of  York,"  and  to  be  incorporated  into  one  body,  and  sub- 
sist by  perpetual  succession.  He  was  also  authorised  to 
settle  upon  it  2000/.  a  year  clear  revenue.  By  other  pa* 
tents  and  grants  to  the  dean  and  canons,  various  church 
livings  were  bestowed  upon  them,  and  the  college  was  to 
be  dedicated  to  the  praise,  glory,  and  honour  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  the  Virgin  Mary,  St.  Frideswide,  and  All  Sairiu. 

With  respect  to  the  constitution  of  this  college,  there  is 
a  considerable  variation  between  the  account  given  by  the 
historian  of  Oxford,  and  that  by  Leonard  Hutten,  canon 
of  Christ  Church,  in  1599,  and  many  years  sub-dean*  His 
manuscript,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  college,  and  quoted 
in  the  Monasticon,  states  that,  according  to  Wolsey's  de«» 
sign,  it  was  to  be  a  perpetual  foundation  for  the  study  of 
the  sciences,  divinity,  canon  and  civil  law,  also  the  arts, 
physic,  and  polite  literature,  and  for  the  continual  per* 
formance  of  divine  service.  The  members  were  to  .be,  a 
dean,  and  sixty  regular  canons,  but  no  canons  of  the  se*» 
cond  order,  as  Wood  asserts. 

Of  these  Wolsey  himself  named  the  dean  and  eighteea 
of  the  canons.  The  dean  was  Dr.  John  Hygdep,  pre- 
sident of  Magdalen  college,  and  the  canons  first  nonrir- 
nated  were  all  taken  from  the  other  colleges  in  Oxford, 
and  were  men  of  acknowledged  reputation  in  their  day. 
He  afterwards  added  others,  deliberately,  and  according 
as  he  was  able  to  supply  the  vacancies  by  men.  of  talents, 
whom  he  determined  to  s^ek  wherever  they  could  be  found. 
Among  bis  latter  appointment?  frcr  Cambridge,  we  find 


W  O  L  S  E  Y.  2$$ 

the  names  of  Tyndal  and  Frith,  the  translators  of  the  Bible* 
and  who  had  certainly  discovered  some  symptoms  of  heresy 
before  this  time.  Cranmer  and  Parker,  afterwards  the 
first  and  second  protestant  archbishops  of  Canterbury,  were 
also  invited,  but  declined ;  and  the  cardinal  went  on  to 
complete  his  number,  reserving  all  nominations  to  himself 
during  his  life,  but  intending  to  bequeath  that  power  to 
the  dean  and  canons  at  his  death.  In  this,  however,  he 
was  as  much  disappointed  as  in  his  hopes  to  embody  a  force 
of  learned  men  sufficient  to  cope  with  Luther  and  the  fo* 
reign  reformers,  whose  advantage  in  argument  he  con* 
ceived  to  proceed  from  the  ignorance  which  prevailed 
among  the  monastic  clergy. 

The  society,  as  he  planned  it,  was  to  consist  of  one  hiirjf 
dred  and  sixty  persons,  according  to  Wood,  or  omitting 
the  forty  canons  of  the  second  order,  in  the  enumeration 
of  whom  Wood  was  mistaken,  one  hundred  and  forty-six; 
but  no  mention  could  yet  be  made  of  the  scholars  who 
were  to  proceed  from  his  school  at  Ipswich,  although,  had 
he  lived,  these  would  doubtless  have  formed  a  part  of  the 
society,  as  the  school  was  established  two  years  before  hh 
fall.  This  constitution  continued  from  1525  to  1529-30, 
when  he  was  deprived  of  his  power  apd  property,  and  for 
two  years  after  it  appears  to  have  been  interrupted,  if  not 
dissolved.  It  is  to  his  honour  that  in  his  last  correspond* 
ence  with  secretary  Cromwell  and  with  the  king,  when  all 
worldly  prospects  were  about  to  close  upon  him,  he  pleaded 
with  great  earnestness,  and  for  nothing  so  earnestly,,  afs 
that  his  majesty  would  be  pleased  to  suffer  his  college  at 
Oxford  to  go  on.  What  effect  this,  had,  we  know  not,  but 
the  urgent  entreaties  of  the  members  of  the  society,  and  of 
the  university  at  large,  were  at  length  successful,  while  at 
the  same  time  the  king  determined  to  deprive  Wolsey  of 
all  merit  in  the  establishment,  and  transfer  the  whole  to 
himself.  The  subsequent  history  of  Christ  church  it  would 
be  unnecessary  to  detail  in  this  place. 

An  impartial  life  of  cardinal  Wolsey  is  perhaps  still  a  de- 
sideratum in%  English  biography*.  Cavendish  is  minute 
and  interesting  in  what  he  relates  of  the  cardinal's  domestic 
history,  but  defective  in  dates  and  arrangement,  and  not 
altogether  free  from  partiality ;  which,  however,  in  one  so 

*  A  life  of  Wolsey  bat  indeed  been  recently  published  by  Mr.  Gait,  which 
the  editor  hat  not  yet  had  an  opportunity  of  perusing. 

S'2     * 


260  W  O  L  S  t  * . 

« 

near  to  the  cardinal,  may  perhaps  be  pardoned,     Fiddes  i* 
elaborate,  argumentative,  and  Upon  the  whole  osefql,  as  art 
extensive  collector  of  facts  and  authorities ;  but  be  wrote 
for  a  special  purpose,  and  has  attempted,  what  no  man  can 
effect,  a  portrait  of  his  hero  free  from  those  vices  and  fail- 
ings of  which  it  is  impossible  to  acquit  him.     Grove,  with 
all  the  aid  of  Cavendish,  Fiddes,   and  even  Shakspeare, 
whose  drama  he  regularly  presses  into  the  service,  is  a 
heavy  and  injudicious -compiler,  although  he  gives  so  much 
of  the  cardinal's  contemporaries,  that  bis  volumes' may  be 
consulted  with  advantage  as  a  series  of  general  annals  of 
the  time.     But  Cavendish,  on  whom  all  who  have  written 
on  the  actionjs  of  Wolsey,  especially  our  modern  histo- 
rians, have  relied,  has  been  the  innocent  cause  of  some  of 
their  principal  errors.     Cavendishes  work  remained  in  ma- 
nuscript, of  which  several  copies  are  still  extant,  until  the 
civil  wars,  when  it  was  first  printed  under  the  title  of  '/The 
Negotiations  of  Thomas  Wolsey,  &c."  1641,  4to,  and  the 
chief  object  of  the  publication  was  a  parallel  between  the 
cardinal  and  archbishop  Laud*  in  order  to  reconcile  the 
public  to  the  murder  of  that  prelate.     That  this  object 
might  be  the  better  accomplished,  the  manuscript  was  mu- 
tilated and  interpolated  without  shame  or  scruple,  and  no 
pains  having  been  taken  to  compare  the  printed  edition 
with  the  original,  the  former  passed  for  genuine  above  a 
century,  nor  until  very  lately  has  the  work  been  presented 
to  the  public  a»  the  author  left  it,  in  Dr.  Wordsworth's 
"  Ecclesiastical  Biography. * 

WOMOCK  (Lawrence),  an  English  prelate,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Norfolk,  born  in  1612,  and  the  son  of  Lawrence 
Wornock,  B.  D.  rector  of  Lopham  and  Fersfield   in  that 
county.     He  was  admitted  pensioner  of  Corpus  Cbristi, 
Cambridge,  July  4,  1629,  and  in  October  following  was 
•chosen  a  scholar  of  sir  Nich.  Bacon's  foundation.     He  took 
the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1632,  was  ordained  deacon  Sep*. 
21,  1634,  and  proceeded  A.  M.  in  1639.     He  is  supposejd 
to  have  succeeded  his  father  in  the  living  of  Lopham  upoti 
.his  diocese  in  1642,  but  was  ejected  by  the  Norfolk  com- 
mittee for  the  examination  of  those  who  we're  deemed  scan- 
dalous ministers,  and  appears  to  have  beep  afterwards  im- 
prisoned for  his  principles  of  religion  and  loyalty,  and  to 
have  suffered  extreme  hardships.     After  the  restoration, 

l  Fidde#»t  Mid  Qrorb't  Lives.— Chalmers's  Hist,  of  Oxford. 


W  O  M  O  C  K.  ,  261 

however,  he  was  promoted  by  letter*  mandate  to  the  de- 
gree of  0.  D.  and  made  both  archdeacon  of  Suffolk,  Sept* 
8,  1660,  and  a  prebendary  of  Ely.  In  1662  be  was  pre- 
sented to  the  rectory  of  Horningsbeath  in  Suffolk,  and  in 
1663  to  that  of  Box  ford  in  the  same  county.  He  was  at 
length  promoted,  but  late  in  life,  to  the  bishopric  of  St. 
David's,  Nov.  11,  1683,  a  preferment  which,  owing  to  his 
short  continuance  in  it,  was  detrimental  to  his  relations* 
He  died  March  12,  1685,  aged  seventy-three,  and  was 
Juried  near  the  remains  of  his  only  daughter  in  the  south 
aile  of  the  church  of  St.  Margaret,  Westminster,  where,  on 
a  small  compartment  affixed  to  the  pillar  next  the  west  end, 
is  an  inscription  to  his  memory, 

He  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  wit  and  learning,  and 
possessed  of  a  very  noble  library.  He  was  attached  with 
much  firmness  to  the  constitution  in  church  and  state,  and 
rejected  all  compromise  with  the  principles  of  the  dissen- 
ters. He  took  an  active  part  in  the  controversies  of  the 
times,  and  was  esteemed  an  antagonist  worth  contending 
with.  '  His  chief  publications,  besides  some  single  sermons, 
were,  "  Beaten  Oyle  for  the  lamps  of  the  Sanctuarie," 
Lond.  1641,  4to,  in  defenceof  the  liturgy.  "  The  Exami- 
nation of  Tilenus  before  the  Triers,"  London,  16&8,  8vo. 
"  Arcana  Dogmatum  Anti-RetnomtrantiunV  1659,  against 
Baxter,  Hickman,  and  the  Calvinists.  "  The  Result  of 
false  Principle*,"  in  several  dialogues,  published  anony- 
mously, 1661,  4to.  "  Uniformity  re-asserted,"  1661.  "The 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant  arraigned  and  condemned," 
Lond.  1661,  4to.  "  An  Antidote  to  cure  the  Calamities* 
of  their  trembling  for  fear  of  the  Arke,"  Lond.  166S,  4to. 
"The  Verdict  upon  the  Dissenters1  plot,"  1 6&1, 8vo.  "Two 
Letters  containing  a  farther  justification  of  the  Church  of 
England,"  Lond.  1682.  "  Suffragiam  Protestantiurn,  where- 
in our  governors  are  justified  in  their  impositions  and  pro- 
ceedings against  dissenters.  Meisner  also,  and  the  verdict 
rescued  from  the  cavils  and  seditious  sophistry,  of  Dr. 
Whitby's  Protestant  Reconciler,"  Lond.  1683,,  8V0.1 
i  WOOI>  (Anthony),  an  eminent  English  antiquary  and 
biographer,  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Wood,  bachelor  of  arts 
and  of  the  civil  law ;  and  was  born  at  Oxford,  Deceipber 
17,  1652*     He  was  sent  to  New-college  school  in  that  city 

*  Eat  her  Calamkes,  or  followers  of  Mr.  Calamy. 
i  Masters'!  C.C.C.C. 


~ 


362  WOOD. 

;n  1641 ;  and  three  y£ars  after  removed  to  the  free-school 
at  Thame  in  Oxfordshire,  where  he  continued  till  his  ad- 
mission at  Merton,  1647.  His  mother  in  vain  endeavoured 
to  prevail  on  him  to  follow  some  trade  or  profession ;  his 
prevailing  turn  was  to  ^antiquity :  "  heraldry,  music,  and 
painting,  he  says,  did  so  much  crowd  upon  him,  that  he 
Could  not  avoid  them;  and  he  could  never  give  a  reason 
why  he  should  delight  in  those  studies  more  than  others ; 
so  prevalent  was  nature,  mixed  with  a  generosity  of  mind, 
and  a  hatred  to  all  that  was  servile,  sneaking,  or  advanta- 
/  tageous,   for  lucre-sake."     He  took   the  degree  of  B.A. 

1652,  and  M.  A.  in  1655,     As  he  resided  altogether  at  Ox- 
ford, he  perused  all  the  evidences  of  the  several  colleges 
and  churches,  from  which  he  compiled  his  two  great  worfcs, 
and  assisted  all  who  were  engaged  in  the  like  designs  ;  at 
the  same  time  digesting  and  arranging  all  the  papers  he 
perused ;  thus  doing  the  cause  of  antiquity  a  double  ser- 
vice.    His  drawings  preserved  many  things   which  soon 
after  were  destroyed.     In  1663,  he  began  to  lay  the  foun~ 
dation  of  "  Historia  &  Antiquitates  Universitatis  Oxonien- 
sis ;-'  which  was  published  in  1674,  in  2  vols,  folio.     The 
first  contains  the  antiquities  of  the  university  in  general; 
find  the  second  those  of  the  particular  colleges.    This  work 
was  written* by  the  author  in  English,  and  so  well  esteemed 
that  the  university  procured  it  to'  be  translated  into  Latin, 
t\te  language  in  which  it  was  published.     The  author  spent 
tight  years  about  it,  and  was,  as  we  are  told,  at  the  pains 
to  extract  it  from  the  bowels  of  antiquity.     Of  the  Latin 
translation,  Wood  himself  has  given  an  account.     He  tells 
Vfo  that  Dr.  Fell,  having  provided  one  Peers,  a  bachelor  of 
arts  of  Christ-church,  to  translate  it,  sent  to  him  for  some 
of  the  English  copy,  and  set  the  translator  to' work ;  who, 
however,  was  some  time  before  he  could  make  a  version  to 
^is  mind.     u  But  at  length  having  obtained  the  knack/' 
says  Wood,  "he  went  forward  with  the  work;  yet  all  the 
proofs,  that  came  from  the  press,  went  through  the  doc- 
tor's hands,  which  he  would  .correct,  alter,  or  dash  out,  or 
put  in  what  he  pleased  ;  which  created  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  to  the  composer  and  author,  but  there  was  no  help, 
fie  was  a  great  man,  and  carried  all  things  at  his  pleasure 
so  much,  that  many  looked  upon  the  copy  as  spoiled  and 
vitiated  by  him.     Peers  was  a  sullen,  dogged,  clownish,  and 
perverse,  fellow ;  and  when  he  saw  the  author  concerned 
at  the  altering  of  his  copy,  he  woujd  alter  it  the  more,  and 


WOOD.  '  263, 

study  to  put  things  in  that  might  vefc  him,  and  yet  please 
his  dean,  Dn.  Fell."  And  he  afterwards  complains,  how 
44  Dr.  Fell,  who  printed  the  book  at  bis  own  charge,  took  ' 
so  much  liberty  of  putting  in  and  out  what  he  pleased,  that 
the  author  was  so  far  from  dedicating  or  presenting  the 
book  to  any  one,  that  he  would  scarcely  own  it."  Among 
the  "  Genuine  Remains  of  Barlow,  bishop  of  Lincoln,  pub- 
lished by  sir  Peter  Pen  in  1693,"  8vo,  are  two  letters  of 
that  prelate,  relating  to  this  work.  In  the  first  letter  we 
have  the  following  passage :  "  What  you  say  of  our  late 
antiquities  is  too  true.  We  are  alarmed  by  many  letters, 
not  only  of  false  Latin,  but  false  English  too,  and  many  bad 
characters  cast  on  good  men ;  especially  oh  the  Anti-Armi- 
niaris,  who  are  all  made  seditious  persons,*  schismatics,  if 
Hot  heretics:  nay,  our  first  reformers  are  made Janatics. 
This  they  tell  me ;  and  our  judges  of  assise,  now  in  town, 
say  no  less.  I  have  not  read  one  leaf  of  the  book  yet;  but 
I  see  I  shall  be  necessitated  to  read  it  over,  that  I  jtnay 
with  my  own  eyes  see  the  faults,  and  (so  far  as  I  am  able) 
endeavour  the  mending  of  them.  Nor  do  I  know  any 
other  way  but  a  new  edition,  with  a  real  correction  of  all 
faults ;  and  a  declaration,  that  those  miscarriages  cannot 
justly  be  imputed  to  the  university,  as  indeed  they  cannot* 
but  to  the  passion  and  imprudence,  if  not  impiety,  of  oito 
or  two,  who  betrayed  the  trust  reposed  in  them  in  the. ma- 
naging the  edition  of  that  book.'*  In  the  second  Letter, 
lifter  taking  notice  that  the  translation  was  made  by  the 
order  and  authority  of  the  dean  of  Christ-church  ;  that  not 
Only  the  Latin,  but  the  history  itself,  is  in  many  things 
ridiculously  false ;  and  then  producing  passages  as  proofs 
of  both ;  be  concludes  thus ;  "  Mr.  Wood,  the  compiler  of 
those  antiquities,  was  himself  too  favourable  to  papists ; 
«bd  has  often  complained  to  me,  that  at  Christ-church 
some  things  were  put  in  which  neither  were  in  his  original 
copy,  nor  approved  by  him.  The  truth  is,  not  only  the 
Latin,  but  also  the  matter  of  those  antiquities,  being  erro- 
neous in  several  things,  may  prove  scandalous,  acid  give 
our  adversaries  some  occasion  to  censure,  not  only  the  uni- 
versity, but  the  church  of  England  and  our  reformation. 
Sure  I  am,  that  the  university  had  no  hand  in  composing 
or  approving  those  antiquities ;  and  therefore  the  errors  * 
^wfaich  are  in  them  cannot  de  Jure  be  imputed  to  the  uni- 
versity,'but  must  lie  upon  Christ-church  and  the  composer 
of  them."    This  work,  however,  is  now  in  a  great  measure 


264  WOO  D. 

rescued  from  misapprehension  by  the  publication  of  Wood's 
MS.  in  English  by  the  rev.  John  Gutch,  3  vol&.*4to. 

Mr.  Wood  afterwards  undertook  his  more  important  work, 
which  was  published  in  1691,  folio ;  and  a  second  edition 
in  1721,  folio,  with  this  title:  "  Athenae  Oxonienses.  An 
exact  history  of  all  the  writers  and  bishops  who  have  had 
their  education  in  the  most  ancient  and  famous  university 
of  Oxford,  from  the  fifteenth  year  of  king  Henry  the  se-r 
venth,  A.D.  1500,  to  the  author's  death  in  November, 
1695;  representing  the  birth,  fortune,  preferment,  and 
death  of  all  those  authors  and  prelates,  the  great  accidents 
of  their  lives,  and  the  fate  and  ctiaracter  of  their  writings. 
To  which  are  added,  the  Fasti,'  or  annals  of  the  said  univer- 
sity. In  two  volumes.  The  second  edition,,  very  much 
corrected  and  enlarged ;  with  the  addition  of  above  50Q 
new  lives  from  the  author's  original  manuscript."  Jmparr 
tiality  and  veracity  being  qualities  so  essential  in  ar>  histo- 
rian, that  all  other  qualities  without  them  cannot  make  a 
history  good  for  any  thing,  Wood  has  taken  sqme  pains  to 
prove,  that  these  great  qualities  were  not  wanting  in  him; 
and  for  that  purpose  thought  it  expedient  to  prefix  to  his 
work  the  following  curious  account  of  himself.  "  As, to  the 
author  himself/'  says  he,  "  he  is  a  person  who  delights  to 
converse  more  with  the  dead  than  with  the  living,  and  has 
neither  interest  with,  nor  inclination  to  flatter  or  disgrace, 
any  man,  or  any  community  of  men,  of  whatever  denomi- 
nation. He  is  such  a  universal  lover  of  all  mankind, ^bat- 
he could  wish  there  was  such  a  standing  measure  of  merit 
and  honour  agreed  upon  among  them  all,  that  there  might 
be  no  cheat  put  upon  readers  and  writers  in  the  business 
of  commendations.  But,  since  every  one  will  have  a  double 
balance  herein,  one  for  himself  and  bis  own  party,  and  ano- 
ther for  his  adversary  and  dissenters,  all  he  can  do  is,  to* 
amass  and  bring  together  what  every  side  thinks  will  make 
best  weight  for  themselves.  Let  posterity  hold  the  scales 
,  and  judge  accordingly;  mum  cuique  dtcus  posttritas  repen- 
dat.  To  conclude :  the  reader  is  desired  to  know,  that 
this  Herculean  labour  had  beep  more  proper  for  a  head 
or  fellow  of  a  college,  or  for  a  public  professor  or  office** 
of  the  most  noble  university  of  Oxford  to  have  undertaken 
and  consummated,  than  the  author,  who  never  enjoyed  any 
place  or  office  therein,  or  can  justly  say  that  be  hath  eaten 
the  bread  of  any  founder.  Also,  that  it  had  been  a  great 
deal  more  fit  for  one  who  pretends  to  be  a  virtuoso,  and  to 


WOOD.  265 

know  all  men*;  anil  all  things  that  are  transacted;  or  for  one 
who  frequents  much  society  in  common  rooms,  at  public 
6res,  in  coffee-houses,  assignaiipns,  clubs,  &c.  where  the 
characters  of  men  and  their  works  are  frequently  discussed ; 
but  the  author,  alas  !  is  so  far  from  frequenting  such  com- 
pany and  topics,  that  he  is  as  it  were  dead  to  the  world, 
and  utterly  unknown  in  person  to  the  generality  vf  scholars 
in  Oxon.  He  is  likewise  so  great  an  admirer  of  a  solitary 
and  retired  life,  that  he  frequents  no  assemblies  of  the  said 
university,  hath  no  companion  in  bed  or  at  board,  in  his 
studies,  walks,  dr  journeys;  nor  holds  communication  with 
any,  unless  with  some,  and  those  very  few,  of  generous  and 
noble  spirits,  that  have  in  some  measure  been  promoters 
and  eocouragers  of  this  work:  and,  indeed,  all  things  con- 
sidered, he  is  but  a  degree  different  from  an  ascetic,  as 
spending  all  or  most  of  his  time,  whether  by  day  or  night, 
in  reading,  writing,  and  divine. contemplation.  However, 
he  presumes,  that,  the  less  his  company  and  acquaintance 
is,  the  more  impartial  his  endeavours  will  appear  to  the 
ingenious  and  learned,  to  whose  judgments  only  he  sub- 
mits them  and  himself." 

But,  as  unconnected  as  Wood  represents  himself  with 
all  human  things  and  persons,  it  is  certain  that  he  had  his 
prejudices  and  attachments,  and  strong  ones  too,  for  cer- 
tain notions  and  systems;  and  these  prejudices  and  at- 
tachments will  always  be  attended  with  partialities  for  or 
against  those  who  shall  be  found  to  favour  or  oppose  such 
notions  or  systems.  They  had  their  influence  upon  Wood, 
who,  though  he  always  spoke  to  the  best  of  h&  judgment, 
and  often  with  great  truth  and  exactness,  yet  sometimes 
gave  way  to  prejudice  and  prepossession.  Among  other 
freedoms,  he  took  some  with  thfe  earl  of  Clarendon,  th^ir 
late  chancellor,  which  exposed  him  to  the  censure  of  the 
university.  He  had  observed  in  the  life  of  judge  Glynne, 
that  "  after  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  he  was  made  his 
eldest  serjeant  at  law,  by  the  corrupt  dealing  of  the  then 
chancellor,"  who  was  the  earl  of  Clarendon :  for  which 
expression,  chiefly,  the  succeeding  earl  preferred  an  ac- 
tion in  the  vice-chancellor's  court  against  him  for  de- 
famation of  his  deceased  father.  The  issue  of  the  process 
was  a  hard  judgement  given  against  the  defendant ;  which, 
to  be  made  the  more  public,  was  put  into  the  Qazette  in 
these  words:  "  Oxford,  July  31,  1693.  On  the  29th  in- 
stant, Anthony  Wood  was  condemned  in  the  vice-chancel* 


266  WOO  D. 

lor's  court  of  the  university  of  Oxford,  for  having  written 
and  published,  in  the  second  volume  of  his  bobk,  entitled 
*  Athens  Oxonienses,'  divers  infamous  libels  against  the 
right  honourable  Edward  late  earl  of  Clarendon,  lord  high 
chancellor  of  England,  and  chancellor  of  the  said  univer- 
sity ;  and  was  therefore  banished  the  said  university,  until 
such  time  as  he  shall  subscribe  such  a  public  recantation 
as  the  judge  of  the  court  shall  approve  of,  and  give  secu- 
rity not  to  offend  in  the  like  nature  for  the  future :  and  his 
said  book  was  therefore  also  decreed  to  be  burnt  before  the 
public  theatre ;  and  on  this  day  it  was  burnt  accordingly, 
and  public  programmas  of  his  expulsion  are  already  affixed 
in  the  three  usual  places."     An  historian  who  has  recorded 
this  censyre  says,  that  it  was  the  more  grievous  to  the 
blunt  author,  because  it  seemed  to  come  from  a  party  of 
men  whom  he  had  the  least  disobliged.     His  bitterness  had 
been  against  the  Dissenters ;  but  of  all  the  zealous  Church- 
men he  had  given  characters  with  a  singular  turn  of  esteem 
and  affection.     Nay,  of  the  Jacobites,  and  even  of  Papists 
themselves,    he  had  always  spoken   the  most  favourable 
things  ;  and  therefore  it  was  really  the  greater  mortification 
to  him,  to  feel  the  storm  coming  from  a  quarter  where  he 
thought  he  least  deserved,  and  might  least  expect  it.     For 
the  same  reason,  adds  the  historian,  this  correction  was 
some  pleasure  to  the  Presbyterians,  who  believed  there  was 
a  rebuke  due  to  him,  which  they  themselves  were  not  able 
to  pay.    Wood  was  animadverted  upon  likewise  by  Burnet, 
in  his  "  Letter  to  the  bishop  of  Litchfield  and  Coventry, 
concerning  a  book  of  Anthony  Harmer  (alias  Henry  Whar- 
ton,   called  '  A  Specimen  of  some  Errors  and  Defects  in 
the   History  of  the   Reformation,'  &c."    upon  which,  in 
1693,  he  published  a  vindication  of  himself,  which  is  re- 
printed before  the  second  edition  of  his  "  Athens  Oxoni- 
enses." 

As  a  collector  Mr.  Wood  deserves  highly  of  posterity  \ 
indeed  we  know  not  any  man  to  whom  English  biography 
is  so  much  indebted,  although  we  may  allow,  at  the  same 
time,  that  he  is  deficient  in  judgment  and  style.  His  er- 
rors, in  other  respects,  have  been  corrected,  and  many 
valuable  additions  made,  from  genuine  authorities,  in  the 
new  edition  (of  which  two  volumes,  quarto,  have  already 
been  published),  by  Philip  Bliss,  Fellow  of  St  John's-college. 
Mr.  Wood  died  at  Oxford  Nov.  29,  1695,  of  a  retention 
of  urine,  under  which  he  lingered  above  a  fortnight;  The 


WOOD. 


267 


circumstances  of  his  death  are  recorded  in  a  letter  of  Dr. 
Arthur  Charlett,  rector  of  University-college,  to  archbishop 
Tenison  :  this  letter,  which  was  published  by  Hearne,  in 
the  appendix  to  his  edition  of. "  Johannis  Confratris  et  Mo- 
nachi  Glastoniensis  Chronica,"  Oxon.  1726,  illustrates  th6, 
character  of  this  extraordinary  person,  by  minutely  de- 
scribing his  behaviour  at  the  most  important  and  critical  of 
ail  seasons.  He  left  his  papers  and  books  to  the  charge  of 
Dr.  Charlett,  Mr.  Bisse,  and  Mr.  (afterwards  bishop)  Tan- 
ner, to  be  placed  in  the  Ashmolean  library. ' 

WOOD  (Robert),  a  polite  scholar,  and  Under-Secre- 
tary of  state  in  1764,  has  a  right  to  a  place  here,  for  his 
Very  curious  "  Essay  on  the  original  Genius  of  Homer/* 
,  Of  the  particulars  of  his  life,  the  proper  subject  for  our 
pages,  we  reluctantly  confess  ourselves  ignorant;  but  shall 
observe,  that  in  1751,  he  made  the  tour  of  Greece,  Egypt, 
and  Palestine,  in  company  with  Mr.  Dawkins  and  Mr.  Bou- 
verie  ;  and  at  his  return  published  a  splendid  work,  in  folio, 
entitled  *'  The  Ruins  of  Palmyra,  otherwise  Tedmor  in  the 
Desert,"  being  an  account  of  the  ancient,and  modern  state 
of. that  place  ;  with  a  great  number  of  elegant  engravings 
of  its  ruins  by  Fourdrinier,  from  drawings  made  on  the  spot. 
This  was  followed  by  a  similar  work  respecting  Balbec. 
Speaking  of  the  abovementioned  friends/  he  says,  "  Had  I 
been  so  fortunate  as  to  have  enjoyed  their  assistance  in 
arranging  and  preparing  for  the  public  the  substance  of  our 
marly  friendly  conversations  on  this  subject  (Homer)  I 
should  be  less  anxious  about  the  fate  of  the  following  work: 
but,  whatever  my  success  may  be  in  an  attempt  to  contri- 
bute to  the  amusement  of  a  Vacant  hour,  I  am  happy  to 
think,  that,  though  I  should  fail  to  answer  the  expecta-* 
tions  of  public  curiosity,  I  am  sure  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  private  friendship ;  and  that,  acting  as  the  only  sur- 
vivor and  trustee  for  the  literary  concerns  of  my  late  fellow- 
travellers,  I  am,  to  the  best  of  my  judgment,  carrying 
into  execution  the  purpose  of  men  for  whose  memory  I 
shall  ever  retain  the  greatest  veneration  ;  and  though  I  may 
do  injustice  to  those  honest  feelings  which  urge  me  to  this 
ptbus  task,  by  mixing  an  air  of  compliment  in  an  act  of 
duty,  yet  I  must  not  disown  a  private,  perhaps  an  idle  con-: 
solation*  which,  if  it  be  vanity  to  indulge,  it  would  be  iife- 

.  '  Life  written  by  himself,  and  other  information  prefixed  to  the  first  volume 
of  Mr.  Bliss's  edition,  and  so  copious  as  to  render  every  other  reference  uu« 
necessary*  » 


268  WOO,D. 

gratitude  to  suppress,  viz.  that,  as  long  as  my  imperfect 
descriptions  shali  preserve  from  oblivion  the  present  state 
of  the  Troade,  and  the  remains  of  Balbec  and  Pa] my r a,  so 
long  will  it  be  known  that  Dawkins  and  Bouverie  were  my 
friends." 

Mr.  Wood  was  meditating  future  publications  relating  to 
other  parts  of  his  tour,  especially  Greece,  when  he  was 
called  upon  to  serve  his  country  in  a  more  important  sta- 
tion, being  appointed  under-secretary  of  state  in  1759,  by 
the  earl  of  Chatham ;  during*  the  whole  of  whose  pros- 
perous administration,  as  well  as  in  those  of  his  two  imme- 
diate successors,  he  continued  in  that  situation. 

Mr.  Wood  had  drawn  up  a  great  part  of  his  "  Essay  oa 
Homer"  in  the  life-time  of  Mr.  Dawkins,  who  wished  tit  to 
be  made  public.  "  But,"  says  Mr.  Wood,  "  while  I  was 
preparing  it  for  the  press,  I  had  the  honour  of  being  called, 
to  a  station,  which  for  some  years  fixed  my  whole  altera- 
tion upon  objects  of  so  very  different  a  nature,  that  it  be- 
came necessary  to  lay  Homer  aside,  and  to  reserve  the  far- 
ther consideration  of  my  subject  for  a  time  of  -more  lei- 
sure. However,  in  the  course  of  that  active  period,  the 
duties  of  my  situation  engaged  me  in  an  occasional  atten- 
dance upon  a  nobleman  (the  late  earl  Granville),  who, 
though  he  presided  at  his  majesty's  councils,  reserved 
some  moments  for  literary  amusement.  .  His  lordship  was 
so  partial  to  this  subject,  that  I  seldom  had  the  honour  of 
receiving  his  commands  on  business,  that  he  did  not  lead 
the  conversation  to  Greece  and  Homer.  Being  directed  to 
wait  upon  his  lordship  a  few  days  before  he  died,  with  the 

J)reliminary  articles  of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  I  found  him  $o 
anguid,  that  I  proposed  postponing  my  business  for  another 
time;  but  he  insisted  that  I  should  stay,  saying,  "it  could 
hot  prolong  his  life,  to  neglect  his  duty  :"  and,  repeating  a 
passage  out  of  Sarpedon's  speech,  dwelt  with  particular 
emphasis  on  a  line  which  recalled  to  his  mind,  the  distin- 
guishing part  he  had  taken  in  public  affairs.  His  lordship 
Then  repeated  the  last  word  several  times  with  a  c^lrn  and 
determined  resignation  ;  and,  after  a  serious  pause  of  some 
minutes,  he  desired,  to  hear  the  treaty  read ;  to  which  be 
listened  with  gr^at  attention  ;  and  recovered  spirits  Qnpugh 
to  declare  the  approbation  of  a  dying  statesman  (I  use  his 
own  words)  on  the  most  glorious  war,  and  most  honourable 
peace,  this  country  ever  saw." 


WOOD.  269 

'  Mr;  Wood  also  left  behind  him  several  MSS.  relating  to 
his  travels,  but  not  sufficiently  arranged  to  afford  any 
hopes  of  their  being  given  to  the  public.  The  house  in 
which  he  lived  in  Putney  is  situated  between  the  roads 
which  lead  to  Wandsworth  and  Wimbledon,  and  became 
the  residence  of  his  widow.  Mr.  Wood-  purchased  it  of 
the  executors  of  Edv\ard,Gibbon,  esq.  whose  son,  the  cele- 
brated historian,  was  born  there.  The  farm  and  pleasure- 
grounds  which  adjoin  the  house  are  very  spacious,  contain- 
ing near  fourscore  acres,  and  surrounded  by  a  gravel-walk, 
which  commands  a  beautiful  prospect  of  London  and  the 
adjacent  country.  Mr.  Wood  was  buried  in  the  cemetery 
Dear  the  upper  road  to  Richmond.  On  his  monument 
is  the  following  inscription,  'drawn  up  by  the  hon.  Horace 
Walpole,  earl  of  Orford,  at  the  request  of  his  widow  : 

"To  the  beloved  memory  of  Robert  Wood,  a  man  of 
supreme  benevolence,  who  was  born  at  the  castle  of  tti- 
verstown  near  Trim,  in  the  county  of  Meath,  and  died 
Sept.  9,  1771,  in  the  fifty-fifth*  year  of  his  age;  and  of 
Thomas  Wood  his  son,  who  died  August  25th,  4772,  in  his 
ninth  year;  Ann,  their  once  happy  wife  and  mother,  now 
dedicates  this  melancholy  and  inadequate  memorial  of  her 
affection  and  grief.  The  beautiful  editions  of  Balbec  and 
Palmyra,  illustrated  by  the  classic  pen  of  Robert  Wood, 
supply  a  nobler  and  more  lasting  monument,  add  will  sur- 
vive those  august  remains."  * 

WOODFORD  (Samuel),  a  divine  and  poet,  eldest  son 
•of  Robert  Woodford,  of  Northampton,  ggnt.  was  born  in 
tfte  parish  of  All-hallows  on  the  Wall,  London,  April  15, 
1636;  became  a  commoner  of  Wad  ham  college  in  1653  ; 
took  one  degree  in  arts  in  1656  ;  and  in  1658  returned  to 
the  Inner  Temple,  where  he  was  chamber- fellow  with  the 
poet  flatihan.  In  1660,  he  published  a  poem  "  On  the 
rettlrh  'of  king  Charles  H."  After  that  period,  he  lived 
first  at  Aldbrook,  and  afterwards  at  Bensted  in  Hampshire, 
in  a  married  and  secular  condition,  and  was  elected  F,  R.'S. 
in  Nov.  1664.  He  took  orders  from  bishop  Morley,  And 
w$s  soon  after  presented  by  Sir  Nicolas  Stuart,  bart.  to  the 
rectory  of  Hartley- Maudet  in  Hampshire.  He  was  installed 
prebend  of  Chitbesjer  May  27,  1676  ;  made  D.  D.  by  the 
diploma  of  archbishop  Sancroft  in  1677;  'and  prebendary 
;©f  Winchester,  Nov.  8,  1680,  by  the  favour  qf  his  great 

1  Nichols'!  Bowyser.— -Tyson***  Environs,  vol.  I. 


270  WOODFORD. 

patron j  the  bishop  of  that  diocese.  He  died  in  1700*  His 
poems,  which  have  some  merit,  are  numerous.  His  "  Pa** 
ra phrase  on  the  Psalms,  in  five  books/*  was  published  in 
1667,  4to,  and  again  in  1678,  8vo.  This  "Paraphrase," 
which  was  written  in  the  Pindaric  and  other  various  sorts  of 
verse,  is  commended  by  R.  Baxter  in  the  preface  to  his 
"  Poetical  Fragments,9'  1681  ;  and  is  called  by  others  "an 
incomparable  version,"  especially  by  his  friend  Flatman, 
who  wrote  a  Pindaric  ode  on  it,  and  a  copy  of  verses  on 
Woodford's  "  Paraphrase  on  the  Canticles,"  1679,  8vo. 
With  this  latter  paraphrase  are  printed,  1.  "The  Legend 
of  Love,  in  three  cantos."  2.  "  To  the  Muse,"  a  Pindaric 
ode.  3.  "  A  Paraphrase  upon  some  select  Hymns  of  the 
New  and  Old  Testament."  4.  "  Occasional  compositions 
in  English  rhymes,"  with  some  translations  out  of  Latin, 
Greek,  and  Italiau,  but  chiefly  out  of  the  last ;  some  of 
which  compositions  and  translations  were  before  falsely 
published  by  a  too-curious  collector  of  them,  from  very 
erroneous  copies,  against  the  will  and  knowledge  of  their 
author.  Dr.  Woodford  complains,  that  several  of  his  trans- 
lations of  some  of  the  moral  odes  had  been  printed  after 
the  same  incorrect  manner.1  / 

WOODHEAD  (Abraham),  whom  Dr.  Whitby  pro-' 
nounces  "  the  most  ingenious  and  solid  writer  of  the  Ro- 
man (catholic)  party,"  and  who  merits  some  notice  from  his 
name  occurring  so  frequently  in  the  popish  controversy  at 
the  latter  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  the  son  of 
John  Woodhead  of  Tbornhill  in  Yorkshire,  and  was  born 
in  1608  at  Meltbam  in  the  parish  of  Abbersbury,  or  Am- 
btiry,  in  that  county.  He  bad  his  academical  education 
ia  University  college,  Oxford,  where  he  took  his  degrees 
in  arts,  was  elected  fellow  in  1633,  and  soon  after  entered 
into  holy  orders.  In  1641  he  served  the  office  of  proctor, 
and  then  set  out  for  the  continent  as  travelling  tutor  to 
some  young  gentlemen  of  family  who  had  been  his  pupils 
in  college.  While  at  Rome  he  lodged  with  the  duke  of 
Buckingham,  whom  he  taught  mathematics,  and  is  sup- 
posed about  the  same  Jtirne  to  have  embraced  the  commu- 
nion of  the  church  of  Rome,  although  for  a  long  time  he 
kept  this  a  profound  secret.  On  his  returu  to  England  he 
had  an  apartment  in  the  duke  of  Buckingham's  house  in 
the  Strand,  and  was  afterwards  entertained  in  lord  Capel'? 

1  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  II. — Nichols's  Poems* 


W  O  O  D  H  h  A  D.  27* 

family.  In  1648  be  was  deprived  of  bis  fellowship  by  the 
parliamentary  visitors,  but  merely  on  the  score  of  absence, 
and  non-appearance,  when  called.  After  the  restoration 
be  was.  reinstated  in  his  fellowship,  but  finding  it  impos- 
sible any  longer  to  conform,  be  obtained  leave  to  travel, 
with  the  allowance  of  a  travelling  fellowship.  Instead,, 
however,  of  going  abroad,  be  retired  to  an  obscure  resi- 
dence at  Hoxton  near  London,  where  he  spent  several 
years,  partly  in  instructing  some  young  gentlemen  of  po- 
pish families,  and  partly  in  composing  bis  works.  Her* 
he  remained  almost  undiscovered,  yptil  a  little  while  before 
bis  death,  which  happened  at  Hoxton,  May  4,  1678.  Hf, 
was  buried  in  St.  Pancras  church-yard,  where  there  is  a 
monument  to  his  memory. 

Wood  head  was  considered  as  one  of  the  ablest  contro- 
versial writers,  on  the  popish  side,  in  his  time,  and  some 
protectants  have  paid  respect  to  his  abilities  and  candour* 
Most  of  his  works  were  printed  at  Mr.  Obadiah  Walker's 
private  press,  and  some  of  them  have  been  attributed  to 
him.  Wood  gives  a  long  list  of  about  twenty-three  articles, 
some  of  which  are  translations.  The  principal  of  bis  oriT 
ginal  writings  is  his  "  Guide  in  controversies,"  or  more 
tfullv,  "A  rational  account  of  the  doctrine  of  catholics,, 
concerning  the  ecclesiastical  guide  iu  controversies  ofsreliT 
gion:  reflecting  on  the  late  writings  of v protean tv  par- 
ticularly of  archbishop  Laud,  and  doctor  Stil^ingfleet,.(o,i> 
this  subject;  in  four  discourses;"  under  the' initials  R.  H, 
1666,1667,  and  1673,  4to.  Wood  adds,  "Many  stick  not  tQ 
•ay,  which  is  a  wonder  to  me, vthat  he  was, the  author  of 
"  The  Whole  Duty  of  Man ;"  and  of  all  that  goes  lender  the 
name  of  that  author."  The  protest,ant,  writers  with  whom 
be  was  involved  in  controvetsy,  and  in  whose  lives  or  writr 
iogs  his  name  occurs,  were,  Peter  Heylyn,  Stillingfleet, 
archbishop  Wake,  Drs.  Aldrxch,  Smalridge,  HarringtQn, 
Tully,  Hooper,  aqd  Whitby.1     .     •       ■     , 

WOODWARD  (John),  an  eminent  natural  philosopher, 
was  descended  from. a  good  family,,  originally  of  Glouces- 
tershire, and  was  born  in  Derbyshire,  May  1,  1665.  He 
received  the  first  part  of  bis  education  at  a  school  in  the 
countty,  where  he  made  a  considerable  progress  in  the  La- 
tin aud  Greek  languages  ;  but  his  father  designing  him  for 
trade,  hfe  was  taken  from  school,  before  he  was  sixteen 

»  Atfc.  Ox,  roU  II.— Dodd's  Ch.  Hist.— Biog.  Brit.  art.  Wake. 


272  WOODWARD. 

years  old}  and  put  apprentice,  as  is  said,  to  a  linen-draper* 
in  London.  This  way  of  life,  however,  was  so  contrary  to 
his  natural  thirst  for  knowledge  and  love  of  books,  that  he 
quitted  it  in  a  few  years,  and  devoted  himself  entirely  to 
literary  pursuits.  His  studies  Were  directed  to  philoso- 
phical objects,  and  the  progress  he  made  soon  attracted 
the  notice  of  some  persons  of  eminence  in  the  learned 
world.  Amongst  others  he  was  honoured  with  the  parti* 
cular  friendship  of  that  distinguished  scholar  and  physician 
Dr.  Peter  Barwick,  who  was  so  p teased  with  his  ingenuity 
and  industrious  applica£ion,  that  he  took>  him  under  his 
•immediate  tuition  in  his  own  family.  In  this  advantageous 
situation  he  prosecuted  his  studies  in  philosophy,  anatomy, 
and  physic,  with  the  utmost  ardour. 

During  his  residence  here,  sir  Ralph  Dutton,  who  was 
Dr.  Barwick' s  son-in-law,  invited  Mr.  Woodward  to  accom* 
pany  the  doctor  on  a  visit  to  his  seat  at  Sherborne,  in  Glou- 
cestershire. He  probably  made  some  stay  here,  for  we  are 
told  that  he  was  now  first  led  to  inquire  into  that  branch  of 
natural  philosophy,  which  became  afterwards  the  favourite 
object  of  bis  studies,  and  the  foundation  of  the  fame  which 
he  acquired.  The  country  about  Sherborne,  and  the  neigh* 
bouring  parts  of  Gloucestershire,  to  which  he  made  fre- 
quent excursions,  abounded  with  stone;  and  there  being 
quarries  laid  open  almost  every  where,  he  was  induced  to 
visit  them,  and  to  examine  the  nature  and  condition  of  the 
stone.  In  these  visits  he  was  struck  with  the  great  variety 
of  sea-shells,  and  other  marine  productions,  with,  which  the 
sand  of  most  of  this  stone  was  incorporated ;  and  being  en- 
couraged by  the  novelty,  and  as  he  judged,  the  singular 
importance  of  this  speculation,  he  resolved  to  pursue  it 
through  the  remote  parts  of  the  kingdom.  In  consequence 
of  this  resolution,  he  travelled  throughout  almost  all  Eng- 
land, in  order  to  inform  himself  of  the  present  condition  of 
the  earth,  and  all  bodies  contained  in  it,  as  far  as  either 
grottoes,  caverns,  mines,  quarries,  &c.  led  him  into  a  know- 
ledge of  the  interior,  and  as  far  as  his  best  observations 
could  extend  in  respect  to  the  exterior  surface,  and  such 
productions  as  any  where  occurred,  plants,  insects,  sea, 
river,  and  land-shells.  He  directed  his  attention  likewise 
to  the  fluids ;  as  well  those  within  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
the  water  of  mines,  grottoes,  caverns,  &c.  as  those  upo* 
the  surface,  the  sea,  rivers,  and  springs;  and  in  making 
these  observations,  he  entered  every  curious  circumstance* 


W  O  O  D  W  A  RiD,  373 

with  great  care,  in  a  journal.  When  he  had  finished  these 
researches,  and  had  returned  to  London,  he  would  gladly 
have  gone  to  the  continent  on  the  same  pursuit,  hut  was 
prevented  by, the  war  which  at  that  time  disturbed  the  quiet  ' 
of  Europe.  In  order,  however,  to  supply  this  defect  as  far 
as  possible,  be  applied  to  gentlemen  who  had  travelled,  and 
were  likely  to  give  him  information  on  the  subject  of  his 
inquiries;  and  he  also  drew  up  a  list  of  questions  upon  this 
subject,  which  he  sent  off  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  where- 
ever  either  himself,  or  any  of  his  acquaintance,  had  any 
friends  resident;  the  result  of  which  was,  that  in  time  he 
was  abundantly  satisfied,  that  the  circumstances  after  which 
he  inquired,  were  much  the  same  every  where.  Being 
now  prepared  with  information,  and,,  as  it  will  appear,  not 
unprovided  with  a  theory,  he  published  in  1695,  in  1  vol. 
Svq,  "  An  Essay  towards  a  natural  history  of  the  Earth  and 
terrestrial  bodies,  especially  minerals ;  as  also  of  the  sea, 
rivers,  and  springs.  With  an  account  of  the  universal  de- 
luge, and  of  the  effects  that  it  bad  upon  the  earth."  He 
called  it  an  "  Essay,'*  because  it  was  designed,  as  he  said, 
to  be  followed  by  a  large  work  upon  the  same  subject,  of 
which  this  was  but  a  specimen. 

Not  only  the  account  of  the  deluge  in  Genesis,  and  the 
traditions  io>  the  same  effect  preserved  by  all  ancient  na- 
tions, but  the  abundant  remains  of  sea-shells  and  coral, 
found  at  great  distances  from  the  sea,  at  great  heights,  and 
intermixed  with  various  rocks,  have  induced  mineralogists* 
without  exception,  to  agree  that  at  some  former  period  the 
whole  of  this  earth  was  covered  with  the  sea.  Various  hy- 
pothetical explanations  of  the  way  in  which  this  deluge 
took  place,  have  been  from  time  to  time  published,  and 
several  of  these  are  to  be  found  in  the  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions* It  is  not  necessary  to  take  notice  of  the  old  hy- 
pothesis of  Burnet,  who  conceived  that  the  ante-diluvian 
wdrld  consisted  of  a  thin,  smooth  c^ust  spread  over  the 
whole  sea,  and  that  this  crust  breaking  occasioned  the  de- 
luge, .and  the  present  uneven  surface  of  the  earth  ;  nor  of 
v  Whiston,  who  ascribed  the  «deluge  to  the  effect  of  the  jtaij 
of  a  cornet^  because  those  opinions  have  many  years  ago 
lost  all.  their  supporters.  Nor  is  any  attention  at  present 
paid  to  the  hypothesis  of  Buffon,  who  conceived  the  earth 
to  have  been  splintered  from  the  sun  by  the  blow  of  a 
comet,  and  accounted  for  the  deluge  by  suppositions  equally 
arbitrary,    and   inconsistent    with   the    phenomena.     Dr. 

Vol-  XXXII,  T 


274  W  6  6  D  W  A  R  D. 

Wd6d  ward  was  the  first  writer  Whd  acquired  a  splendid, 
reputation  by  hit  tbedty ;  and  his  opinions,  though  not 
always  correct,  generally  prevailed  in  bis  titae,  and  after. 
In  the  work  above  rtientioned,  which  he  afterwards  consi- 
derably augmented  and  Unproved,  after  refuting  the  hy- 
p6theses  of  his  predecessors,  he  proceeds  to  shew,  that 
the  present  state  of  the  earth  is  the  consequence  of  the 
universal  deluge ;  that  the  waters  took  up  and  dissolved  all 
the  minerals  and  rocks,  and  gradually  deposited  them  along1 
with  the  sea-shells;  and  he  affirms  that  all  rocks  lie  in  the 
ordef  of  their  specific  gravity.  Although  this  theory  has 
long  lost  its  authority,  several  of  the  positions  which  he 
laid  down  continue  still  to  find  a  place  in  every  theory 
which  has  succeeded  him. 

In  the  mean  time  Woodward's  "  Essay"  occasioned  no 
small  controversy.  JSotne  of  its  errors  were  pointed  Out.  by 
Dr.  Martin  Lister,  in  three  distinct  pieces;  and  Mr.  Ro~ 
binstih,  a  clergyman  of  Cumberland,  soon  after  published 
sortie  '<  Observations  on  the  natural  history  of  the  world  of 
matter,  and  the  world  of  life,"  in  Which  be  accused  Wood- 
ward of  plagiarism,  and  mentioned  the  authors  from  wham, 
as  he  said,  he  had  borrowed  most  of  his  notions.  But  these 
different  works  received  an  answer  in  a  single  treatise  pub- 
lished  by  Mr.  Harris,  in  1697 ;  and  the  dispute  was  cem-> 
promised  that  same  year,  in  &  pamphlet  written  by  £>r.  Ar-  <- 
buthnot,  in -which,  after  an  impartial  examination  of  Wood-' 
ward's  hypothesis,  he  decided  that  though  it  seemed  liable 
to  taany  just  exceptions,  yet  the  whole  was  not  to  be  ex* 
ploded.  Hitherto  the  author  himself  had  made  no  reply  to 
any  of  the  objections  against  his  "  Essay  ;"  but  in  1704,  a 
Latin  translation  of  it  being  published  at  Zurich,  he  was 
led  into  a  controversy,  by  letters  on  the  subject,  with  sotee 
of  his  learned  correspondents  abroad,  and  particularly  witto 
the  celebrated  Leibnitz.  This  controversy  continued  feeing 
years,  and  when  ended,  a  fresh  attack  was  made  on  our 
author's  hypothesis,  by  Elias  Came  rati  us,  professor  of 
physic  at  Tubingen,  in  some  Latin  dissertations  printed  iti 
1712.  On  this  Dr.  Woodward  published  hi  1714,  "  N*<- 
turalis  historia  telluris  illustrata  et  aucte,"  in  the  preface  to 
which  he  declares,  that  what  had  been  urged  by  bis  anta- 
gonists, before  Camerarius,  was  not  of  tueh  force  as  tfc 
deserve  a  distinct  reply ;  that  every  thing  considerable  in  % 
their  objections  was  now  proposed  by  CftttterarHlaj  with 
some  additions  of  his  own  entirely  new,  and  that  the  pre- 


WOODWARD.  275 

sent  might  be  considered  as  a  general  answer.  In  this 
work,  therefore,  he  supplied  the  main  defects  and  omissions 
of  his  Essay,  and  endeavoured  to  vindicate  his  hypothesis. 
The  dispute  with  Camerarius  was  closed  in  a,  very  friendly 
address  from  that  learned  professor,  which  was  published 
in  the  German  Ephemerides  in  1717,  though  not  without 
some  intimation  of  his  continuing  still  in  his  first  senti- 
ments. In  1726,  Mr.  Benjamin  Holloway,  F.  R.  S.  having 
translated  the  "  Naturalis  His  tori  a  telluris"  into  English, 
doctor  Woodward  readily  embraced  this  opportunity  of 
strengthening  bis  opinion  by  some  additional  papers  with 
which  he  furnished  the  translator. 

The  connexion  of  all  the  circumstances  of  Dr.  Wood- 
ward's publication  with  each  other,  rendered  it  necessary 
to  give  the  above  account  of  the  whole  in  succession  ;  but 
we  must  now  return  to  other  transactions  in  his  progress 
towards  the  reputation  he  bad  acquired,  and  which  was  not 
altogether  unmixed.     In  the  interval  between  his  visit  to 
sir  Ralph  Hwtton,  and  the  publication  of  his  first  "  Essay," 
he  bad  been  elected  professor  of  physic  in  Gresham  col- 
lege, to  which  place  he  was  recommended  by  some  per- 
sons of  consequence  in  the  learned  world,  and  particularly 
by  Dr.  Bar  wick.     This  preferment,  which  he  obtained  in 
1692,  was  soon  followed  by  other  honours.     In  1693  he 
-was  elected  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  and   was  fre- 
quently afterwards  one  of  their  council.     In  1695  he  wa» 
created  M.  D.  by  archbishop  Tenispn,  and  in  the  following  . 
year  he  was  admitted  of  Pembroke-hall,  Cambridge,  and 
honoured  with  the  same  degree  in  that  university.     In  1608 
he  was  admitted  a  candidate  of  the  college  of  physicians, 
and  was  chosen  a  fellow  in  1702.  ' 

In  1699  he  published,  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions, 
"  Some  thoughts  and  experiments  concerning  Vegetation." 
These  experiments  have  acquired  great  celebrity,  and  are 
constantly  referred,  to  by  all  writers  on  vegetable  physi- 
ology. They  consist  in  putting  sprigs  of  vegetables  into 
the  mouths  of  phials  filled  with  water,  allowing  them  to 
vegetate  for  some  time,  and  then  determining  the  quantity 
of  water  which  they  have  imbibed,  and  the  quantity  oif 
weight  which  they  have  gained.  The  difference  obviously 
indicates  the  quantity  of  moisture  exhaled  by  the  plant. 
About  1693,  iSr.  Woodward's  attention  was  directed  to  an 
object  of  a  very  different  kind.  He  had  purchased  from 
the  museum  of  a  deceased  friend,  a  small,  but  very  curious 

T  2 


276  WOODWARD. 

« 

ip»n.  shield  of  a  round  form  ;  on  the  concave  side  of  which 
were  represented,  iu  the  upper  part,  the  ruins  of  Rome 
when  burnt  by  the  Gauls ;  and  below,  the  weighing  out 
the  gold  to  purchase  their  retreat,  together  with  the  arrival 
of  Camillus,  and  flight  of  the  Gauls ;  and  in   the  centre 
appeared  a  grotesque  mask  with  horns  very  large  and  pro- 
minent ;  the  figures  all  executed  in  a  spirited  and  beautiful 
manner.     Mr.  Conyers,  in  whose  collection  this  curiosity 
was,  bad  purchased  it  of  a  brazier,  who  bought  it  among 
some  brass  and  iron  fragments  which  came  out  of  the  ar- 
moury in  the  Tower  of  London,  near  the  end  of  Charles 
II. 's  reign.     As  soon  as  it' came  into  the  possession  of  Dr. 
Woodward,  many  inquisitive  persons  came  to  see  it,  and 
M)  order  to  enable  others,  who  bad  not  that  opportunity, 
to  form  a  judgment  of  it,  he  not  only  had  several  casts 
made  of  it,  but  also,  in  1705,  had  it  engraven  at  Amster- 
dam, on  a  copper-plate  of  the  size  of  the  original ;  copies 
of  which  were  transmitted  to  many  learned  foreigners,  for 
their  opinion.     Antiquaries,  however,  could  not  agree  as 
to  its  age.     The  professors  and  other  critics  in  Holland,  in 
genera),  pronounced  it  antique  ;  but  those  in  France  thought 
otherwise,  and  Woodward  wrote  against  their  opinion   a 
letter  to  the  abbe  Bignon,  which  is  published  by  Dr.  Ward 
in  the  appendix  to  his  "  Lives  of  the  Gresham  Professors/' 
Dodwell  wrote  a  "  Dissertatio  de  Parma  equestri  Wood- 
wardiana,"  which  was  published  l^y  Hearne  (See  Hearne) 
in  1713.     Dodwell  supposed  this  shield  came  out  of  some 
public  collection ;  such  as  the  Shield  Walk  in  Whitehall- 
palace,  from  Henry  VIII.'s  time  to  Charles  I.     Theophilus 
Downes,  fellow  of  Baliol  college,  differed  from  him  as  to' 
the  antiquity  of  this  monument ;  and  after  his  death  were 
published,  in  two  leaves,  8vo,  his  "  De  clypeo  Woodwar- 
diano   stricture   breves."     Ainsworth  abridged*  DodwelPs 
dissertation,  and  inserted  it  at  the  end  of  the  "  Museum 
Woodwardianum,"  or  catalogue  of  the  doctor's  library  and 
curiosities,  sold  by  auction  at  Covent-garden  in  1728.      He 
afterwards  enlarged  the  piece,  considered  the  objections,  and 
reprinted  it  with  the  title,  "  De  Clypeo  Camilli  antiquo," 
&c.  1734,  8vo.     Spanheim  and  Abr.  Seller  bad  both  begun 
to  write  dissertations  on  it,  but  were  prevented  by  death. 
Ward  was  the  last  who  made  any  remarks  on  it,  and  those 
in  favour  of  its  antiquity ;  but  Moyle's  objection  to  its  ant- 
tiquity  from  the  ruins  of  an  amphitheatre  has.  not  been  re* 
moved  by  Dr.  Ward.     No,  ancient  artist,  Mr.  Gough  ob- 


.WOODWARD.  277 

serves,  could  be  so  ignorant  as  to  ascribe  such  buildings  to 
that  period*  At  Dr.  Woodward's  sale,  this  shield  was  pur- 
chased by  Col.  King,  one  of  his  executors,  for  100/.,  and 
at  the  sale  of  the  colonel's  effects,  in  1768,  it  was  sold  to 
Dr.  Wilkinson  for  forty  guineas,  along  with  the  letters,  &c. 
relating  to  it. 

In  1707,  Dr.  Woodward  published  "An  account  of 
some  Roman  urns,  and  other  antiquities,  lately  digged  up 
near  Bishopsgate ;  with  brief  reflections  upon  the  ancient 
and  present  state  of  London,  in  a  letter  to  sir  C.  Wren," 
&c.  This  was  reprinted  at  London  and  Oxford,  1713  and 
1723,  8vo,  with  a  letter  from  the  doctor  to  the  editor.  It 
was  printed  first  at  the  desire  of  sir  Christopher,  whose  ob- 
servations have  since  appeared  in  the  <f  Parentalia."  Wren 
could  not  he  persuaded  that  the  temple  of  Diana  stood  on 
the  scite  of  St.  Paul's,  though  Woodward  had  prepared  a 
dissertation  on  her  image  dug  up  near  that  cathedral. 
This  dissertation,  never  printed,  is  now  in  the  possession- 
of  the  editor  of  this  Dictionary. 

In  the  midst  of  those  researches  into  antiquity,  Dr. 
Woodward  did  not  neglect  his  medical  profession,  although 
it  cannot  be  said  that  he  was  eminently  successful.  In  1 7 1 8 
we  find  him  involved  in  a  controversy  with  two  of  the 
greatest  physicians  of  his  time,  Dr.  Freind  and  Dr.  Mead* 
In  a  learned  work  which  Dr.  Freind  published,  about  this 
time,  he  had  advanced  several  arguments  in  favour  of 
purging  upon  the  access,  of  the  second  fever,  in  some  dan- 
gerous cases  of  the  confluent  small- pox.  This,  practice 
was  warmly  opposed  by  Dr.  Woodward,  who,  on  the  con- 
trary,  strenuously  recommended  the  use  of  emetics  in  such 
cases  ;  and  in  the  following  year  printed  his  "  State  of 
Physic  and  of  Diseases,  with  an  Inquiry  into  the  Causes  of 
the  late  increase  of  them ;  but  more  particularly  of  the 
Small-pox.  -With  some  considerations  upon  the  new  prac- 
tice of  purging  in  that  disease :"  &c.  in  Svo.  This  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  bitter  controversy  ;  and  Dr.  Mead  re- 
tained a  sense  of  the  injury,  as  he  thought  it,  for  many 
years  after,  as  appears  from  the  preface  to  his  treatise  on 
the  small-pox  ;  where  he  gives  a  short  history  of  the  affair, 
and  also  throws  some  personal  reflections  on  Dr.  Wood- 
ward, which  would  have  been  inexcusable  in  the  heat  of 
the  controversy,  and  were  certainly  much  more  so  near 
thirty  years  after.  Pope,  Arbutbnot,  and  other  wits,  at* 
tenipteu  also  to  turn  Dr.  Woodward  into  ridicule,  and  there 


378  WOODWARD. 

appears  to  have  been  something  of  irascibility  in  his  tem- 
per, which  afforded  his  enemies  considerable  advantage  in 
this  way. 

Dr.  Woodward  declined  in  his  health  a  considerable 
time  before  he  died;  and  though  he  had  all  along  continued  . 
to  prepare  materials  for  his  large  work,  relating  to  the 
Natural  History  of  the  Earth,  yet  it  was  never  finished  ; 
but  only  some  collections,  said  to  have  been  detached  from 
it,  were  printed  at  different  times,  as  enlargements  upon 
particular  topics  in  his  essay.  He  was  confined  first  to  his 
house,  and  afterwards  to  his  bed,  many  months  before  his 
death.  During  this  time,  he  not  only  drew  up  instructions 
for  the  disposal  of  his  books  and  other  collections,  but  also 
completed  and  sent  to  the  press  his  "  Method  of  Fossils," 
in  English;  and  lived  to  see  the  whole  of  it  printed,  ex- 
cept the  last  sheet.  He  died  in  Gresham-college  April 
25,  1728;  and  was  buried  in  Westminster-abbey,  where  is 
a  monument  to  his  memory.  After  his  death,  the  two  fol- 
lowing works  were  published,  1.  "  Fossils  of  all  kinds,  di- 
gested into  a  Method  suitable  to  their  mutual  relation  and 
affinity,"  &c.  Svo.  2.  c<  A  Catalogue  of  Fossils  in  the 
Collection  of  John  Woodward,  M.  D."  in  2  vols  8vo.  By 
his  last  will,  he  founded  a  lecture  in  the  university  of  Cam- 
bridge, to  be  read  there  upon  his  "  Essay  towards  the  Na- 
tural History  of  the  Earth,  his  Defence  of  it,  his  Discourse 
of  Vegetation,  and  his  State  of  Physic ;"  for  which  he  or- 
dered lands  of  150/.  per  annum  in  South-Britain  to  be  pur- 
chased and  conveyed  to  that  university,  and  out  of  this  a 
hundred  pounds  per  annum  to  the  lecturer,  who,  after  the 
death  of  his  executors  Dixie  Windsor,  Hugh  Bethel,  Hi* 
chard  Graham,  esqrs.  and  colonel  Richard  King,  is  to  be 
chosen  by  the  archbishop  of  the  province,  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese,  the  presidents  of  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  of  the  Royal  Society,  the  two  members  of  parliament, 
and  the  whole  senate  of  the  university.  This  lecturer  to. 
be  a  bachelor ;  to  have  no  other  preferment ;  to  read  four 
lectures  a, year  in  English  or  Latin,  of  which  one  is  to  be 
printed  ;  to  have  the  custody  of  the  two  cabinets  of  fossils 
given  by  the  doctor  to  the  university,  to  shew  them  three 
days  in  each  week  gratis ;  and  to  be  allowed  ten  pounds 
per,  aonutn  for  making  experiments  and  observations,  aad 
keeping  correspondence  with  learned  men.  Some  of  these 
conditions  it  would  not  be  easy  to  fulfil,  yet  the  p&efeqper- 
ririp  continues,  and  has  been  held  by  men  of  talents.     Dr. 


WOODWARD.  $79 

Conyers  Middlemen  was  (be  firat  appointed  to  the  office, 
who  opened  the,  lectures  yviih  an  elegant  Latin  oration  in 
praise  of  (he  founder,  and  upon  the  usefulness  of  his  in- 
stitution. 

Or-  Woodward  left  a  great  many  manuscripts,  enume- 
rated by  Dr.  Ward,  some  of  which  he  ordered  to  be  burnt, 
but  others  canje  into  the  possession  of  his  executor,  colonel 
Hiqbard  King,  and  were  sold  in  1768  with  the  rest  of  the 
colonel's  collection.  Dr.  Woodward  was  in  many  respects 
a  FJsiQnary  >n<J  an  enthusiast,  but  the  extent  of  his  inge- 
nuity and  learning  cannot  well  be  called  in  question,  and 
i^  ought  not  to  be  forgot  that  the  circumstances  of  bis 
yogth  were  discouraging,  and  that  he  had  no  help  in  bis 
progress  from  academical  instruction. 1 

WOOLLETT  (William),  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  oiq- 
dero  engravers  in  England,  was  born  at  Maidstone,  in  Kant, 
Aug.  27,  1735.  Of  his  early  history  few  particulars  hav$ 
b$en  preserved,  and  those  mostly  traditionary  His  father 
W  » thread-maker,  and  long  time  a  foreman  to  Mr.  Ro- 
bert Pope.  The  family  is  said  to  have  come  originally 
frpm  Holland  ;  and  there  is  a  tradition  that  Wooltett's,  great 
grandfather  escaped  from  the  battle?  fought  by  the  parlia- 
mentary forces  against  the  royalists  near  JVIaidstone.  Q*pr 
grtist  was  educated  at  Maidstone  under  Mr  §imon  Qood* 
wjn,  wfro  qsed  to  notice  his  graphic  talents.  Once  haying 
taken  eta  a  slate  the  likeness  of  a  schoolfellow  named  Burten- 
#haw>  who  bad  a  prominent  npse,  his  master  desired  him  to 
fipifb  U  QU  paper,  and  preserved  the  drawing,  fje  was  also 
jflibf*  habit  of  drawing  the  likenes&es  of  his  father^  acquaint- 
ances. His  earliest  production  on  copper  was  a  portrait  of 
a  Mr.  Scott,  of  Maidstone,  with  a  pipe  in  his  ipouth. 
These  a^  perhaps  trifles,  but  the)  coippote  all  th»t  is  now 
r£0)£mbered  of  Wooltett's -younger  days  His  first  at- 
t^rppts  having  been  seen  by  Mr  Tinne>,  an  engraver,  hp 
took  big)  as  an  apprentice  at  the  same  thn/e  with  Mr.  An- 
thony Walker  and  Mr.  Prown.  tjis  ns/e  ii}  his  profession 
W.a$  rapid,  and  much  distinguished,  for  be  brought  the  art 
stf  landscape  engraving  to  great  perJ&ction.  With  respect 
to  the  grand  and  sublime,  says  Strutt,  "  jf  1  may  be  al- 
lied the  term  in  landscapes,  tb,e  whole  world  cauuot  pro- 
duce his  equal."     Woollett,  boweyer,  did  not  confine  him- 

1  lyard's  Lives  of  the  Gresbam  Professors. — Bipg.  Brit. — Thomson's  Hist,  of 
tkt  RoyaiSocisty. — Cough's  Topography. 


280  WOOLLET  T. 

self  to  landscapes,  be  engraved  historical  subjects  and  por- 
traits with  the  greatest  success.  The  world  has  done 
ample  justice  to  his  memory,  and  the  highest  prices  still 
continue  to  be  given  for  good  impressions  of  all  his  prints, 
but  particularly  of  his  *?  Niobe"  and  its  companion  "  Phae- 
ton," his  "  Celadon  and  Amelia/7  and  "  Ceyx  and  Al- 
cyone ;"  and  "  The  Fishery,"  all  from  Wilson,  whose  pecu- 
liar happiness  it  was  that  his  best  pictures  were  put  into  the 
hands  of  Woollett,  »who  so  perfectly  well  understood  and 
expressed  the  very  spirit  of  his  ideas  upon  the  copper. 
To  these  we  may  add  the  portrait  of  Rubens,  from  Van- 
dyke, and,  what  are  in  every  collection  of  taste,  his  justly  ; 
celebrated  prints  from  the  venerable  president  of  the  aca- 
demy, "  The  Death  of  General  Wolfe,"  and  «  The  Battle 
of  the  Boyne." 

Mr.  Woollett  died  at  his  house,  Upper  Charlotte* street, 
Rathbone-place,  May  23,  1785,  aged  fifty  ;  and  the  re-  ' 
cord  of  his  death  is  given  in  these  words :  "  To  s*y  he 
was  the  first  artist  in  his  profession  would  be  giving  him  his 
least  praise,  for  he  was  a  good  man. — Naturally  modest 
and  amiable  in  his  disposition,  he  never  censured  the  works 
of  others,  or  omitted  pointing  out  their  merits ;  his  patience 
under  the  continual  torments  of  a  most  dreadful  dfsorder 
Upwards  of  nine  months  was  truly  exemplary ;  and  he  died 
as  he  had  lived,  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  in  which  he 
never  had  an  enemy.  He  has  left  his  family  inconsolable 
for  his  death,  and  the  public  to  lament  the  loss  of  a  man 
whose  works  (of  which  his  unassuming  temper  never  boast- 
ted)  are  an  honour  to  his  country."  An  elegant  monument 
was  afterwards  put  up  to  his  memory  in  the  cloisters,  West- 
minster abbey. * 

WOQLSTON  (Thomas),  an  English  divine,  very  no- 
torious in  his  day  for  the  .pertinacity  with  which  he  pub- 
lished the  most  dangerous  opinions,  was  born  in  1669,  at 
Northampton,  where  his  father  was  a  reputable  tradesman. 
After  a  proper  education  at  a  grammar-school,  he  was  en- 
tered of  Sidney  college,  in  Cam  bridge,  in  1685,  where  he 
took  both  the  degrees  in  arts,  and  that  of  bachelor  of  di- 
vinity, and  was  chosen  fellow  of  his  college.  From  this 
time,  in  conformity  to  the  statutes  of  that  society,  he  ap- 
plied himself  to  the  study  of  divinity;  and  entering  into 

*  Strutt's  Diet.— Some  MS  memorandums  purchased  at  the  late  Mr.  Alexan- 
der's sale,  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Nichols,  and  obligingly  communicated  to  the  editor. 


WOOLSTON.  281 

holy  orders,  soon,  we  are  told,  became  distinguished  and 
esteemed  for  bis  learning  and  piety.     Of  what  sort  the  lat- 
ter was,  bis  life  will  shew.   .  It  appears  that  he  had  very 
early  conceived  some  of  those  notions  which  afterwards  so 
much  degraded  his  character.     His  first  appearance  as  an 
author  was  in  1705,  when  he  printed  at  Cambridge  a  work 
entitled  "  The  old  Apology  of  the  Truth  for  the  Christian 
Religion  against  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  revived,"  8vo.  The 
design  of  this  work,  which  is  an  octavo  of  near  400  pages, 
is  to  prove  that  all  the  actions  of  Moses  were  typical  of 
Christ,  and  to  shew  that  some  of  the  fathers  did  not  think 
them*  real,  but  typical  relations  of  what  was  to  come.  <  This 
allegorical   way  of  interpreting  the  scriptures  of  the  Old 
'  Testament  our  author  is  said  to  have  adopted  from  Origen, 
whose  works,  however,  he  must  have  studied  very  inju- 
diciously ;  yet  he  became  so  enamouredof  this  method  of  , 
interpretation,  that  he  not  only  thought  it  had   been  un- 
justly neglected  by  the  moderns,  but  that  it  might  be  use- 
ful, as  an  additional  proof  of  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
-He  preached  this  doctrine  first  in  the  college  chapel,  and 
afterwards  before  the  university  at  St.  Mary's,  to  the  great 
surprise  of  his  audience.     Yet,  as  his  intentions  seemed 
to  be  good,  and  his  character  respected,  and  as  he  bad  not 
yet  begun  to  make  use  of  the  indecent  language  which 
disgraced  his  subsequent  works,  no  opposition  was  raised  ; 
and  when  the  volume  appeared  in   print,  though   there 
were  some  singular  notions  advanced,  and  a  new  manner 
of  defending  Christianity  proposed,  yet  there  was  nothing 
that  gave  particular  offence,  and  many  things  which  shewed 
great  ingenuity  and  learning.     He  stilT continued  to  reside' 
at  Cambridge,  applying  himself  indefatigably  to  his  studies, 
in  a  quiet  and  retired  way,  until  1720,  when  he  published 
a  Latin  dissertation  entitled  "  De  Pontii  Pilati  ad  Tiberium 
Epistola  circa  res  Jesu  Christi  gestas ;  per  Mystagogum," 
8vo,  in  which  he  endeavours  to  prove  that  Pontius  Pilate 
wrote  a  letter  to  Tiberius  Cesar  concerning  the  works  of 
Christ ;  but  that  the  epistle  delivered  down  to   us  under 
that  name  among  the  writings  of  the  fathers,  was  forged. 
The  same  year  he  published  another  pamphlet  in  Latin, 
with  the  title  of  "  Origen  is  Adamantii  Kenati  Epistola  ad 
Doctores  Whitbeium,   Waterlandium,  Whistoniutn,   alios- 
que  literatos   hujus  saeculi  disputatores,  circa  fidefn  vere 
orthodoxam  et  scripturarum  interpretationem  ;"  and,  soon 
after,  a  second  epistle  with  the  same  title*    The  rage  of 


aw  w  O  O  h  S  T  Q  N. 

allegorizing  tbq  letter  of  th*  holy  scriptures  into  mystery, 
villi  which  this  writer  was  incurably  infected,  began  now  ' 
to  shew  itself  more  openly  to  the  world  than  it  had  hitherto 
done.  In  1720  and  1721,  he  published  two  letters  to  J)r# 
Rennet,  rector  of  §t.  Giles's,  Cripplegate,  London;  op* 
iipon  this  question,  u  Whether  the  people  called  quakers 
do  not  the  nearest  of  any  other  sect  of  religion  regerab)* 
the  primitive  Christians  in  principles  and  practice  ?"  by 
Aristobulus ;  the  other,  "  In  defence  of  the  Apostles  and 
Primitive  Fathers  of  the  Church,  for  their  allegorical  in- 
terpretation of  the  law  of  Moses,  against  the  ministers,  of 
the  letter  and  literal  commentators  of  this  age;'1  and.,  soon 
after,  be  himself  published  an  answer  to  these  two  letters; 
in  all  which  his  view  appears  to  have  been  rather  to  t>e 
severe  upon  the  clergy  than  to  defend  either  apostles, 
fathers,  or  quakers.  At  what  time  be  left  college  does  not ' 
appear,  but  he  bad  about  this  time  absented  himself  from 
it  beyond  the  time  limited  by  the  statutes.  The  society 
and  his  friends,  however,  compassionating  bis  case,  ?od 
judging  it  to  be  in  some  degree  the  effect  of  a  bodily  dis- 
temper, allowed  him  the  revenues  of  his  fellowship  for  a 
support.  The  supposition  hurt  his  pride,  and  he  went 
directly  to  Cambridge  to  convince  the  gentlemen  of  bis 
College  that  he  laboured  under  no  disorder,  and  as  he  at 
the  same  time  refused  to  reside,  be  lost  his  fellowship. 

After  this  his  brother,  an  alderman  of  Northampton, 
allowed  him  thirty  poiyids  a  year,  besides  other  occasional 
assistance;,  and  on  this  be  supported  himself,  being  a  man 
pf  great  temperance,  in  London.  In  1722  he  published  a 
piece  entitled  "  The  egsxt  fitness  of  the  time  in  which 
Christ  was  manifested  in  the  Flesh,  demonstrated  by  rea- 
son, against  the  objections  of  the  old  Gentiles,  and  of 
modern  Unbelievers."  This  was  vvell  enough  received,  as 
shewing  much  learning  displayed  in  a  temperate  manner, 
and  having  in  it  some  valuable  remarks.  It  was  written 
twenty  years  before  its  publication,  and  delivered  as  a 
public  exercise  both  in  Sidney  college  chapel,  and  in  St. 
Mary's  church,  as  Woolston  'himself  observes  in  his  dedi- 
cation pf  it  to  Dr.  Fisher,  master  of  Sidney  college.  But 
lie  did  not  long  abstain  from  his  intended  attack  on  the 
ctargy  8J1<I  religion.  In  1723  and  1724  came  out  his  four 
"  Free  Gifts  to  the  Clergy,"  and  his  own  "  Answer"  to 
them,  in  five  separate  pamphlets;  in  which  he  attacks  the 
clergy  with  the  greatest  contempt,' and,  as  it  would  appear, 


WOOLSTON. 


<m 


without  any  provocation.    Yet,  though  he  treated  tbem  in 
thif  manner,  he  expressed  a  very  great  regard  for  religion  ; 
and  did  what  some  thought  more1  than  necessary  to  defend 
it,  when  in  1726  he  published  "  A  Defence  of  the  Thun-  ' 
dering  Legion,  against  Mr.  Moyle's  Dissertations.9' 

The  "Four  free  gifts"  were  scarcely  published,  when, 
the  controversy  with  Collins  going  on  at  this  time,  Mr. 
Woolston,  under  pretence  of  acting  the  part  of  an  im- 
partial inquirer,  published  his  "  Moderator  between  an  In- 
fidel and  Apostate/9  and  two  "Supplements  to  the  Mode- 
rator.'9 In  these  pieces,  he  pursued  his  allegorical  scheme, 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  letter;  and,  with  regard  to  the  . 
miracles  of  Christ,  not  only  contended  for  sublime  and 
mystical  interpretations  of  them,  but  also  asserted  that 
they  were  not  real,  or  ever  actually  wrought.  As  he  con- 
ducted this  attempt  with  greater  rudeness  and  insolence 
than  any  of  those  that  had  appeared  before  him,  his  pre- 
sumption was  not  likely  to  be  unnoticed  in  a  Christian 
country,  and  he  was  prosecuted  by  the  attorney-general ; 
but  the  prosecution  was  stopped  at  the  intercession  of  Mr, 
Whiston*  In  1727,  1728,  1729,  and  1730,  were  pub- 
lished bis  "  Six  Discourses  on  the  Miracles  of  Christ," 
and  his  two  "  Defences"  of  them.  The  six  discourses  are 
dedicated  to  six  bishops :  Gibson,  of  London ;  Chandler, 
of  Litchfield;  Smalbroke,  of  St.  David's ;  Hare,  of  Chi- 
chester; Sherlock,  of  Bangor;  and  Potter,  of  Oxford,  who 
are  all  treated  with  the  utmost  rudeness.  What  he  under- 
take? to  prove  is,  that  the  miracles  of  our  Saviour,  as  we 
find  them  in  the  Evangelists,  however  related  by  tbem  as 
historical  truths,  were  not  real,  but  merely  allegorical;  and 
that  they  are  to  be  interpreted,  not  in  literal  but  only  in 
mystical  senses.  His  pretence  is,  that  the  fathers  of  the 
church  considered  our  Saviour's  miracles  in  the  same  alle- 
gorical way  that  be  does;  that  is,  as  merely  allegorical,  and 
excluding  the  letter :  but  this  is  not  so.  Some  of  the  fa- 
thers, indeed,  and  Origen  in  particular,  did  not  .confine 
themselves  to  the  bare  letter,  but  endeavoured,  upon  the 


*  It  does  not  appear  very  clearly 
whether  this  was  at  the  intercession  of 
Whiston.  W  km  too  informs  us  of  his 
having  applied  to  the  attorney-gene* 
ral,  sir  Philip  Yorke,  who  said  that  he 
would  aotprooeed  unless  the  secretary 
of  stale  Rent  him  an  order  so  to  do. 
u  I  then,"  addsWbistoo,  "  went  to  Dr. 


Clarke,  to  persuade  him  to  go  with  me 
to  lord  Townsend  (the  secretary  of 
State)  hut  he  refused,  all  edging  Uurt 
the  report  would  then  go  abroad,  jthat 
the  king  supported  blasphemy.  How- 
ever, no  fanner  progress  was  made  in 
Mr.  Woolston's  trial. 


284  W  O  O  L  S  T  O  N. 

foundation  of  the  letter,  to  raise  spiritual  meanings,  and  to 
allegorize  by  way  of  moral  application  ;  and  they  did  this, 
not  only  upon  the  miracles  of  Christ,  but  upon  almost  alt 
the  historical '  facts  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament :  but 
they  never  denied  the  miracles  or  the  facts.  This  strange 
and  enthusiastic  scheme  of  Woolston  was  offensive  enough 
of  itself,  but  infinitely  more  so  from  his  manner  of  conduct- 
ing  it;  for  he  not  only  argues  against  the  miracles  of 
Christ,  but  treats  them  in  a  most  ludicrous  and  outrageous 
way  :  expressing  himself  in  terms  of  astonishing  insolence 
and  scurrility.  Such  conduct  raised  a  general  disgust : 
and  many  books  and  pamphlets,  both  from  bishops  and  in- 
ferior clergy,  appeared  against  his  discourses ;  and  a  se- 
cond prosecution  was  commenced  and  carried  on  with  vi- 
gour, against  which  there  seemed  to  be  now  little  or  no 
opposition,  he  having  by  his  disingenuity  of  argument  and 
scurrility  of  manner,  excluded  himself  from  all  the  privi- 
leges of  a  fair  reasoner.  At  his  trial  in  Guildhall  before 
the  lord  chief-justice  Raymond,  he  spoke  several  times 
himself;  and  among  other  things  urged,  that  "he  thought 
it  very  hard  to  be  tried  by  a  set  of  men,  who,  though  other* 
wise  very  learned  and  worthy  persons,  were  yet  no  morejudges 
of  the  subjects  on  which  he  wrote  than  he  himself  was  a 
judge  of  the  most  crabbed  points  of  law."  He  was  sen- 
tenced to  a  year's  imprisonment,  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  100/. 
He  purchased  the  liberty  of  the  rules  of  the  King's  Bench, 
where  he  continued  after  the  expiration  of  the  year,  being 
unable  to  pay  the  fine.  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke  had  begun  his 
solicitations  at  court  for  the  releasement  of  Woolston,  de- 
claring that  he  did  not  undertake  it  as  an  approver  of  his 
doctrines,  but  as  an  advocate  for  that  liberty  which  he  him- 
self had  always  contended  for ;  but  he  was  hindered  from 
effecting  it  by  his  death,  which  happened  soon  after  Wool- 
ston's  commitment.  The  greatest  obstruction  to  his  de- 
liverance from  confinement  was  the  obligation  of  giving 
security  not  to  offend  by  any  future  writings,  he  being  re- 
solved to  write  again  as  freely  as  before.  While  some  sup- 
posed this  author  not  in  earnest,  but  meaning  to  subvert 
Christianity  under  a  pretence  of  defending  it;  others  be* 
lieved  him  disordered,  and  not  perfectly  in  his  right  mind; 
and  many  circumstances  concurred  to  persuade  to  the  lat- 
ter of  these  opinions;  but  how,  in  either  case,  a  prosecu- 
tion for  blasphemy  comes  to  be  considered  as  persecution, 
for  religion,  remains  yet  to  be  explained.     Such  a  con- 


WOO  L  S  T  ON.  28$ 

struction,  however,  appears  to  have  been  put  upon  it  by 
the  Clarkes  and  Lardners  of  those  days,  and  by  their  suc- 
cessors in  our  own.  As  the  sale  of  Woolston's  books  was, 
very  great  (for  such  blasphemies  will  find  readers  as  well 
as  advocates  for  the  publication  of  them),  his  gains  arising 
from  them  must  have  been  proportionable;  but  he  defrayed 
all  the  expences,  and  those  not  inconsiderable,  to  which 
his  publishers  were  subjected  by  selling.  He  died  Janu- 
ary 27,  1732-3,  after  an  illness  of  four  days;  and,  a  few 
minutes  before  his  death,  uttered  these  words  :  "  This  is  a 
struggle  which  all  men  must  go  through,  and  which  I  bear 
not  only  patiently,  but  with  willingness."  His  body  was 
interred  in  St.  George's  church-yard,  Southwark.  * 

WOOLTON  (John),  bishop  of  Exeter  in  queen  Eliza- 
beth's  reign,  was  born  at  Wigan  in  Lancashire,  in  1535;' 
he  was  nephew  to  the  celebrated  dean  No  we  II.  He  en* 
tered  a  student  of  Brasen-nose  college,  Oxford,  in  1553, 
whence  in  1555  he  fled  to  his  uncle  and  the  other  exiles  in 
Germany.  •  On  his  return  in  the  beginning  of  queen  Eli- 
zabeth's reign,  he  was  made  canon  residentiary  of  Exeter, 
where  he  read  a  divinity  lecture  twice  a  week,  and  preached 
twice  every  Lord's  day ;  and  in  the  time  of  the  great  plague, 
he  only  with  one  more  remained  in  the  city,  preaching  pub- 
licly as  before,  and  comforting  privately  such  as  were  in- 
fected with  the  disease.  Besides  his  residentiary  ship,  he 
had  the  living  of  Spaxton  in  the  diocese  of  Wells,  and  in 
i575  became  Warden  of  Manchester  college,  in  1579  he 
was  consecrated  bishop  of  Exeter,  and,  as  he  had  been  be- 
fore esteemed  a  pious,  painful,  and  skilful  divine,  he  was 
now  a  vigilant  and  exemplary  prelate.  His  character  in 
this  last  respect  excited  some  animosity,  and  a  long  string 
of  accusations  was  presented  against  him  to  archbishop 
Parker,  which  Strype  has  recorded  at  length  in  his  appen- 
dix to  the  life  of  that  celebrated  primate,  all  which  bishop 
Wool  ton  satisfactorily  answered. 

Bishop  Godwin,  the  biographer,  who  married  one  of  his 
daughters,  and  seems  to  have  been  with  him  in  his  last  mo- 
ments, says,  he  dictated  letters,  not  two  hours  before  his 
death,  on  subjects  of  importance,  full  of  the  piety  and  pru- 
dence of  a  man  in  health  and  vigour;  and  being  reminded 
to  consult  bis  health,  he  repeated  and  applied  the  saying  of 
Vespasian,  that  "  a  bishop  ought  to  die  upon  his  legs ;" 

1  Biof.  Brit.— Inland's  Deiitical  Writers.— Whistou's  J/>fe. 


286  W  O  O  L  T  6  N. 

which  in  him,  at  before  in  the  emperor,  was  verified,  for  as 
he  was  supported  across  the  room  (his  complaint  being  an 
asthma)  he  sunk,  and  expired  almost  before  he  touched 
the  ground,  in  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  in- 
terred in  Exeter  cathedral,  with  a  Latin  inscription  by  his 
son.  He  composed  many  theological  tracts,  monitpry  and 
practical,  which  were  all  printed  and  published  in  the  space 
of  about  twelve  months,  in  the  years'  1576  and  1577.  1. 
"  Anatomie  of  the  whole  man."  2.  "  Christian  manual." 
3.  "Of  Conscience/*  4.  "  Armour  of  proofed  5.  «* Im- 
mortalitie  of  the  soule."  6.  "Fortress*  of  the  Faithful!/* 
and  7.  "David's  Chain/'  which  last  is  not  mentioned  by 
Wood  or  Ames.  * 

WORCESTER  (WiLliam).     See  BOTONER. 

WORLIDGE  (Thomas),  an  artist  of  considerable  merit, 
was  a  native  of  England,  born  in  1700,  and  for  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  painted  portraits  in  miniature  :  he  after- 
wards, with  worse  success,  performed  them  in  oil ;  but  at 
last  acquired  reputation  and  money  by  etchings,  in  the' 
manner  of  Rembrandt,  which  proveif  to  be  a  very  easy  task, 
by  the  numbers  of  men  who  have  counterfeited  that  master 
so  as  to  deceive  all  those  who  did  not  know  his  works* 
Woriidge's  imitations  and  his  beads  in  black-lead  have 
grown  astonishingly  into  fashion.  His  best  piece  is  the 
whole-length  of  sir  John  Astley,  copied  from  Rem- 
brandt, and  his  copy  of  the  hundred  Guilder  print ;  but  bis 
print  of  *he  theatre  at  Oxford  and  the  act  there,  and  his 
statue  of  lad}7  Pomfret's  Cicero,  are  very  poor  perform- 
ances. His  last  work  was  a  book  of  gems  from  the  antique. 
He  died  at  Hammersmith,  Sept. 23,  1766,  aged  sixty-six.* 

WORMIUS  (Olaus),  a  learned  physician  of  Denmark, 
was  born  May  13,  1588,  at  Arhusen,  a  city  of  Jutland, 
where  his  father  was  a  burgomaster  of  an  ancient  family. 
He  began  his  studies  in  his  native  place;  but  was  sent, 
when  very  young,  to  the  college  of  Lunenburg;  and  thence 
to  Emmeric,  in  the  duchy  of  Cleves.  Having  spent  four 
years  at  these  places,  he  was  removed  to  Marpurg  in  1605; 
and  two  years  after  to  Strasburg,  where  he  applied  himself 
to  physic,  to  which  profession  he  had  now  given  the  prefer-' 
eoce,  and  going  to  Basil  studied  some  time  with  advantage* 
under  Platerus  and  others.     In  1 608,  he  went  to  Italy,  and 

»  Atb.  Ox.  vol.  I.— Strype's  Whitgift,  p.  220.— Churton's  Life  of  NowelK— 
Fuller^  Worthies. 

*  Walpole'i  Anecdotes. — Pilkington  and  Strutt's  Dictionaries,       * 


W  O  R  M  I  V  S.  291 

doling  a  residence  of  ion*  months  at  Padtia,  his  uflcfotff* 
moti  parts  and  learning  procured  him  singular  honours. 
He  Visited  other  cities  of  Italy,  arid  passed  thence  iofi* 
France,  remaining  three  months  at  Sienna,  and  four  at 
Montpelier;  after  which  his  design  was,  to  make  along 
abode  at  Paris;  but  the  assassination  of  Henry  IV.  in  1610, 
about  two  months  after  his  arrival,  obliging  him  as  well  as 
other  strangers  to ••  retire  from  that  city,  he  went  to  Hol- 
land, and  thence  to  Denmark.  He  had  not  yet  visited  the 
university  of  Copenhagen,  so  that  bis  first  care  was  to  re-* 
pair  thither,  and  to  be  admitted  a  member  of  it,  He  was 
earnestly  entreated  to  continue  there ;  but  his  passion  fof 
travelling  was  not  yet  satiated,  and  he  resolved  to  See  Eng- 
land first.  The  chemical  experiments  that  were  then  car- 
rying on  at  Marpnrg  made  a  great  noise  \  and  he  went 
thither  in  1611,  with  a  view  of  perfecting  himself  in  a 
science  of  great  importance  to  a  physician.  Thence  he 
journeyed  to  Basil,  where  he  took  the  degree  of  doctor 
hi  physic ;  and  from  Basil  to  London,  in  which  city  he 
resided  a  year  and  a  half*  His  friends  grew  now  impa~ 
tient  to  have  him  at  home,  where  he  arrived  in  1613  :  and 
was  scarcely  settled,  when  he  was  made  professor  of  the 
belles-lettres  in  the  university  of  Copenhagen.  In  1615, 
he  Was  translated  to  the  chair  of  the  Greek  professor ;  and, 
in  1624,  to  the  professorship  of  physic,  in  the  room  of 
Caspar  Bartholin,  which  he  held  to  his  death.  These  oc- 
cupations  did  not  hinder  him  from  practising  in  his  pro* 
fessioOj  and  from  being  the  fashionable  physician.  The 
king  and  court  of  Denmark  always  employed  him ;  and 
Christian  IV.  as  a  recompense  fof  his  services,  conferred 
en  him  the  canoory  of  Lunden.  He  died  Aug.  31, 1654, 
aged  sixty-six. 

Wormius  had  three  wives,  who  brought  him  a  family  of 
sixteen  children.  He  published  some  works  on  subjects 
relating  to  his  profession,  several  in  defence  of  Aristotle's 
philosophy,  and  several  concerning  the  antiquities  of  Den- 
mark and  Norway.  For  these  last  he  is  principally  re* 
intemhered  now,  and  they  are  esteemed  very  lea  riled  and 
Correct;  particularly  his,  I.  "Fasti  Danici,"  1626.  2.  "A 
History  of  Norway,"  1633,  4tt>.  3.  "  Litteratura  Danica 
anti^uissima,  vuigo  Gothica  dicta,  &  de  prisca  Danofujn 
Peesi,"  16S6,  4to.  4.  "  Monumeutorum  Danicorum  Kbri 
VT.*§  1643,  folio.  5.  "Lexicon  Runicum,  &  Appendix  ad 
Monumenta  Danica,"    1650,  folio.      6.  "Series  Regum 


2*8  W  O  R  M  I  U  Si 

Daoise .  duplex,  &  limttum  inter  Daniam  &  Sueciam  0c-»» 
scriptio,"  1642,  folio.  7- "  Talshoi,  aeu  Monumentain 
Stroense  in  Scania/'  1628,  4to.  8.  "  Monumentum  Try- 
gwaldense,"  1636,  4to.  Ail  printed,  at  Hafnia,  or  Co- 
penhagen. ' 

WORTHINGTON  (Dr.  John),  an  excellent  divine  of 
the  church  of  England,  was  born  at  Manchester,  in  the  be- 
ginning  of  Feb.  1617*18,  and  was  the  son  of  Roger  Wor- 
thington,  a  person  of  "  chief  note  and  esteem"  in  that  town* 
His  mother  was  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Christopher  Which- 
cote,  esq.,  and  niece  to  sir  Jeremy  Whichcote,  bart  He 
was  educated  at  Emanuel  college,  Cambridge,  of  which  he 
became  a  fellow,  was  created  B.D.  in  1646,  and  D.  D.  in 
1655.  He  was  afterwards  chosen  master  of  Jesus  cottege, 
vacant  by  the  ejectment  of  Dr.  Richard  Sterne,  afterwards 
archbishop  of  York,  but  was  with  some  difficulty  prevailed 
upon  to  submit  to  the  choice  and  request  of  the  fellows,  his 
inclination  being  to  a  more  private  and  retired  life ;  and 
soon  after  .the  restoration  he  resigned  that  mastership  to 
Dr.  Sterne.  In  the  mean  time  he  was  successively  rector 
of  Hortpn  in  Buckinghamshire,  Gravely  and  Fen  Ditton  in 
the  county  of  Cambridge,  Barking,  with  Needham,  in  the 
county  of  Suffolk,  and  Ingoldsby  in  Lincolnshire.  During 
the  years  1660  and  1661  he  cultivated  a  frequent  cor- 
respondence by  letters  with  that  great  promoter  of  all  use- 
ful learning,  Mr.  Samuel  Hartlib ;  four  and  twenty  of  Dr. 
Worthington's  being  published  at  the  end  of  his  Miscella- 
nies ;  and  several  others  by  bishop  Kennet  in  his  Register 
and  Chronicle.  In  1663,  he  was  collated  to  the  sinecure 
rectory  of  Moulton  All  Saints,  in  Norfolk.  He  entered 
upon  the  cure  of  St.  Bene't  Fink  in  June  1664,  under  Dr.. 
George  Evans,  canon  of  Windsor,  who  held  a  lease  from 
that  college  of  the  rectory ;  and  he  continued  to  preach 
there  during  the  plague-year  1665,  coming. thither  weekly 
from  Hackney,  where  he  had  placed  his  family :  and  from 
February  18,  1665-6,  till  the  fire  in  September,  he  preached 
the  lecture  of  that  church,  upon  the  death  of  the  former 
lectures.  Soon  after  that  calamity,  he  was  presented  by 
Dr.  Henry  More,,  of  Christ's  college  in  Cambridge,  to  the 
living  of  Ingoldsby,  before,  mentioned,  and  to  the  prebend 
of  Asgarby  in  the  cjiurch  of  Lincoln,  procured  him  by 
archbishop   Sheldon,   who   had  a  great   esteem  for  him. 

j  -  •  ■ ' 

1  Niceron,  vol.  lX.— Saxii  Ooomast. 


WORTHINGTON.  28* 

IVom  Ingoldsby  he  removed  to  Hackney,  being  choseii 
lecturer  of  that  church  with  a  subscription  commencing 
from  Lady-day  1670  ;  and,  the  church  of  St.  Bene't  Fink 
being  then  rebuilding*,  be  made  suit  to  the  church  of  Wind- 
sor  to  have  his  lease  of  the  cure  renewed  to  him,  being  re- 
commended by  the  archbishop  to  Dr.  Ryves,  dean  of  that 
church.  This  was  granted  him ;  but  some  difficulties 
arising  about  the  form  of  the  lease,  with  regard  to  the  par- 
sonage bouse,  agreed  to  be  rebuilt,  he  did  not  live  to  exe- 
cute it,  dying  at  Hackney  Nov.  26,  1671.  He  was  interred 
in  the  church  there. 

His  funeral-sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Tillotson  at 
Hackney,  on  the  30th  of  Nov.  1671,  on  John  ix.  4.  printed, 
as  it  was  preached  on  another  occasion,  in  the  third  volume 
of  his  posthumous  sermons,  published  by  Dr.  Barker.  But 
the  character  of  Dr.Wortbington*  which  was  the  conclusion 
of  that  sermon,'  and  omitted  in  that  edition,  is  inserted  in 
the  preface  to  that  learned  man's  "  Miscellanies,9'  published 
kit  London  in  1704  in  8vo,  by  Dr.  Fowler,  bishop  of  Glou- 
cester, and  prefixed  to  Dr.  Worthington's  "  Select  Dis- 
courses," revised  and  published  by  his  son  John  Worthing- 
ton,  M.A.  at  London,  1725,  in  8vo. ' 

WORTHINGTON  (William),  a  learned  English  di- 
vine, was  born  in  Merionethshire  in  1703,  and  educated 
at  Oswestry -school,  whence  he  came  to  Jesus-college,  Ox- 
ford, where  he  made  great  proficiency  in  learning.  From 
college  he  returned  to  Oswestry,  and  became  usher  in  that 
School.  He  took'  the  degree  of  M.A.  at  Cambridge  in 
1742;  was  afterwards  incorporated  at  Jesus-college,  Ox- 
ford, July*  9,  1758  ;  and  proceeded  B.  and  D.  D.  July  10, 
in  that  year.  He  was  early  taken  notice  of  by  that  great 
encourager  of  learning  bishop  Hare,  then  bishop  of  St. 
Asaph,  who  presented  •  him  first  to  the  vicarage  of 
Llan'yblodwell,  in  the  county  of  Salop,  and  afterwards  re- 
moved him  to  Llanrhayader,  or  Llanrhadra,  in  Denbighshire, 
where  he  lived  much  beloved,  and  died  Oct.  6,  1773,  much 
lamented.  As  be  could  never  be  prevailed  upon  to  ttfk* 
two  livings,  bishop  Hare  gave  him  a  stall  at  St.  Asaph,  and 
a  sinecure,  "to  enable  him,"  he  said,  "to  support  his 
charities"  (for  charitable  he  was  in  an  emiuent  degree). 

Afterwards  archbishop  Drummond  (to  whom  he  had  beerv 

•  ,         •  •  .  ... 

■  Bml-wick'i  Life.—Birch'f  Life  of  TilloUoa.— Gcot.  Mag.  voli.  XL1L  XLIU, 

todXLvr. 
Vol.  XXXII.  V 


290  WOETHINGT  ON; 

chaplain  for  several  years)  presented  him  to  a  stall  in  the 
cathedral  of  York.  These  were  all  bis  preferments.  He 
was  a  studious  man!  and  wrote  several  books,  of  which  the 
principal  are  here  enumerated.  1.  "An  Essay  on  the 
Scheme  and  Conduct,  Procedure  and  Extent,  of  Man's 
Redemption ;  designed  for  the  honour  and  illustration  of 
Christianity.  To  which  is  annexed,  a  Dissertation  on  the 
Design  and  Argumentation  of  the  Book  of  Job,"  by  Wil- 
liam Worthing  ton,  M.  A.  vicar  of  Blodwel  in  Shropshire, 
London*  1743,  8vo.  2.  "The  historical  Sense  of  the  Mo- 
saic Account  of  the  Fall  proved  and  vindicated,"  17...., 
8vo.  3.  "  Instructions  concerning  Confirmation,"  17...., 
8vo.  4.  "  A  Disquisition  concerning  the  Lord's-Supper," 
17....,  8vo.  5.  "The  Use,  Valu^,  and  Improvement,  of  va- 
rious Readings  shewn  and  illustrated,  in  a  Sermon  preached 
before  the  University  of  Oxford,  at  St.  Mary's,  on  Sunday 
Oct.  18,  1761,"  Oxford,  1764,  8vo.  6.  "A  Sermon 
preached  in  the  parish-church  of  Christchurch,  London,  on 
Thursday  April  the  21st,  1763;  being  the  time  of  the 
yearly  meeting  of  the  children  educated  in  the  charity- 
schools  in  and  about  the  cities  of  London  and  Westpiini 
ster,"  1768,  4to.  7.  "  The  Evidences  of  Christianity, 
deduced  from  Facts,  and  the  Testimony  of  Sense,  through- 
out all  Ages  of  the  Church,  to  the  present  Time*  In  a 
series  of  discourses,  preached  for,  the  lecture  founded  by 
the  hon.  Robert  Boyle,  esq.  in  the  parish-church  of  St. 
James,  Westmiuster,  in  the  years  1766,  1767,  1768; 
wherein  is  shewn,  that,  upon  the  whole,  xthis  is  not  a  de- 
caying, but  a  growing,  Evidence,"  1769,  2  vols.  Svo.  8. 
"  The  Scripture  Theory  of  the  Earth,  throughout  all  its 
Revolutions,  and  all  the  periods  of  its  existence,  from  the 
creation  to  the  final  renovation  of  all  things  ;  being  a  se- 
quel to  the  Essay  ou  Redemption,  and  an  illustration  of  the 
principles  on  which  it  is  written/'  17.73,  8 to.  ft  "  Ire* 
nicum;  or,  the  Importance  of  Unity  in  tfee  Church  of 
Christ  considered,  and  applied  towards  the  healing  of  our 
unhappy  differences  and  divisions,"  1775,  $.vo.  lQ."An 
Impartial  Enquiry  into  the  Case  of  the  Gospel- Qemoniaca; 
with  an  appendix,  consisting  of  an  Essay  en  Scrtpture- 
Demonology,"  1777,  8vo.  This  last  was  a  warm  attack 
on  the  opinion  held  out  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Farmer,  i*  his 
"  Essay  on  the  Demoniacs/9  1775,  8vo.  and,  having  pro- 
duced a  spirited  reply  in  1773,  Dr.  Wortbington  prepared 
for  the  press  (what  by  the  express  directions  of  \m  will 


WOTTON.  291 

was  given  to  the  public  aftet  bis  death)  "  A  farther  Enquiry 
into  the  case  of  the  Gospel-Demoniacs,  occasioned  by  Mr. 
Farmer's  on  the  subject,"  1779,  Svo*1 

WOTTON  (Anthony),  ranked  by  Fuller  among  the 
learned  writers  of  King's-college,  Cambridge,  was  born  in 
London,  about  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  educated  at  Eton,  whence,  being  elected  to  King's- 
cellege,  he  was  entered,  Oct.  1,  1579,  commenced  B.  A* 
in  1583,  M.  A.  in  1587,  and  B.  D.  in  1594.  He  was  also 
fellow  of  that  college,  and  some  time  chaplain  to  Robert 
earl  of  Esse*.  On  the  death  of  Dr.  Whitaker  in  1596  he 
stood  candidate  for  the  king's  professorship  of  divinity  in 
Cambridge,  with  Dr.  John  Overall  of  Trhiity*college ;  but 
failed,  by  the  superior  interest  of  the  latter,  although  he 
performed  bis  probationary  exercises  with  general  ap- 
plause. In  March  1596  he  was  chosen  professor  of  divinity 
in  Gresbanvcollege,  upon  the  first  settlement  of  that 
foundation,  and  in  1598  quitted  his  fellowship  at  Cambridge, 
and  marrying  soon  after,  resigned  also  his  professorship. 
He  was  then  chosen  lecturer  of  Allhallows  Barking;  but 
in  1604  was  silenced  by  Dr.  Bancroft,  bishop  of  London, 
for  some  expressions  used  either  in  a  prayer  or  sermon, 
which  were  considered  as  disrespectful  to  the  king;  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  he  remained  long  under  suspension  ; 
at  least,  in  a  volume  of  sermons  printed  in  1609  he  styles 
himself  minister  of  Allhallows. 

His  next  trouble  arose  from  his  brethren  in  London,  of 
the  puritan  stamp,  with  which  be  is  usually  classed.  He 
was  accused  of  holding  an  erroneous  opinion  concerning 
the  doctrine  of  justification,  which,  according  to  him,  con- 
sisted in  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  His  principal  accuser 
was  the  Rev.  George,  Walker,  minister  of  St.  John,  the 
Evangelist  in  Watling-street,  who  went  so  far  as  to  bring 
forward  a  charge  of  Socinianism,  heresy,  and  blas- 
phemy. This  produced  a  conference  between  eight  di- 
vines of  eminence,  four  for  each  party;  and  the  result 
was,  tbat  although  these  judges  differed  from  Mr.  Wottou 
"in  some  points  of  obe  former  doctrine  of  justification, 
contained  in  his  expositions,"  yet  they  held  "  not  the  dif- 
ference to  be  so  great  and  weighty,  as  that  they  are  to  be 
justly  condemned  of  heresy  and  blasphemy ." 

*  Nichols's  Bowj *r. 
V  2 


292  WOTTON. 

In  1624,  as  Mr.  Wotton  bad  promised  to  explain  himself 
more  fully  on  the  subject  in  dispute,  he  published  his 
Latin  treatise  "  De  reconciKatione  peccatoris,"  thinking  it 
more  advisable  to  discuss  the  question  in  a  learned  lan- 
guage, than  to  hazard  differences  among  common  Chris- 
tians by  priming  his  opinion  in  English.  In  this  work  he 
professed  to  agree  with  the  Church  of  England,  the  gene- 
rality of  the  first  reformers,  and  particularly  Calvin,  and  to 
oppose  only  the  opinion  of  Flaccus  Illyricus,  Hemmingius, 
&c.  and  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  declared  in  the 
Council  of  Trent.  Walker,  however,  returned  to  the  charge, 
but  did  not  publish  any  thing  until  after  Mr.  Wotton's 
death.  This  obliged  his  friend  Mr.  Gataker,  one  of  the 
eight  divines  who  sat  in  judgement  on  him,  to  write  a  nar- 
rative of  the  conference,  which  was  published  by  Mr. 
Wotton's  son  in  1641. 

As  Mr.  Wotton  was  a  zealous  advocate  for  the  reforma- 
tion, he  published  several  books  in  defence  of  it,  which 
exposed  him  to  the  resentment  of  a  different  party.  He 
entered  particularly  into  the  controversy,  with  Dr.  Monta- 
gue, afterwards  bishop  of  Chichester,  whose  work  entitled 
"  Appello  Caesarem"  met  with  a  host  of  opponents,  on  ac- 
count of  its  leaning  towards  Arminianism  and  popery. 
Wotton  did  not  long  survive  this  performance.  Though  a 
man  acknowledged  by  all  parties  to  be  learned  and  able, 
it  does  not  appear  he  had  any  other  preferment  than  the 
lectureship  of  Allhallows,  where,  according  to  the  register, 
he  was  buried  Dec.  11,  1626. 

His  writings  are,  1.  "An  answer  to  a -popish  pamphlet, 
&c.  entitled  •  Certain  Articles,1  &c."  Lond.  1605,  4to. 
2.  "  A  defence  of  Mr.  Perkins9  booke  called  A  Reformed 
Catholike,  &c."  ibid.  1606,  4to.  3.  "The  tryal  of  the 
Roman  Clergy's  title  to  jhe  Church,"  ibid.  1608,  4to.  4. 
"  Sermons  on  part  of  chapter  first  of  St.  John's  Gospel,'* 
ibid.  1609}  4to.  5.  "  Run  from  Rome;  or,  The  necessity 
of  separating  from  that  Church,"  ibid.  162*,  4to.  6.  "  De 
reconciliatione  peccatoris,  &c."  Basil.  1624,  4to.  7:  "An 
answer  to  a  book,  entitled  Appello  Cxsarem,  written  by 
Mr.  Richard  Mountague,"  ibid.  1626.  8.  <<  The  art- of 
Logick,"  ibid.  1626,  8vo,  This  is  an  English  translation 
of  Ram  us' s  logic,  made  by  his  son,  and  with  a  dedication 
by  our  author.  This  son,  Samtiel,  who  died  in  1680,  was 
rector  of  East  and  West  Wretham  in  Norfolk. l 

1  Ward's  Grctbim  Proftisors.— Harwood'i  Alumni  Etooenses,  pp.  189  and  221. 


WOTTON.  2M 

WOTTON  (Edward),  an  eminent  physician,  celebrated 
by  Leland  in  bis  "  Encomia,"  by  tbe  name  of  Ododunus, 
was  the  son  of  Richard  Wotton,  superior  beadle  of  divinity 
in  the  university  of  Oxford,  and  was  born  there  in  1492, 
and  educated  at  tbe  school  near   IVJagdalen-college,  of 
which  college  he  became  demy,  and  took  a  bachelor's  de- 
gree in  1513.     Bishop  Fo*,  founder  of  Corpus  Christi  col- 
lege, was  his  patron,  by  whose  interest  he  was  appointed 
'  sacius  cpmpar  and  Greek  lecturer  of  that  new  foundation, 
and  continued  there  till  152Q,  when  he  obtained  leave  to 
travel  into  Italy  for  three  years.     Jt  appears  that  he  studied 
physic  on  the  continent,  for  be  had  a  doctor's  degree  con- 
ferred upon  him  at  Padua.     After  his  return  he  resumed 
bis  lectureship,  and  was  incorporated  doctor  of  physic  to- 
wards the  end  of  1525.     He  became  very  eminent  ia  his 
profession,  first  about  Oxford,  and  then  in  London ;  and 
wa«  a   member  of  .the  college  of  physicians,  and  phy- 
sician  to   Henry  VIII.      He   died   October  5,   1555,  and 
lies  buried  in  St.  Alban's  church,  London.     He  was  the 
first  of  our  English  physicians  who  particularly  applied 
to  the  study  of  natural   history.     He   made  himself  fa- 
mous at  home  and   abroad  by  his   book,    entitled   "  De 
DirTerentiis  Animalium,  lib.  X."  Paris,    1552;  on    which 
Gesner  and  Possevin  have  bestowed  much  praise,     It  was 
afterwards  considerably  improved  by  Moufet  in  his  "  Mi- 
nimorum  Animalium  Theatrum,"  Lond   1634.    Wotton  left 
m.auy  children,  of  wbom  his  son'  Henry  became  also  a  phy- 
sician of  eminence. ! 

WOTTON  (Sir  Henry),  an  Englishman,  eminent  for- 
learning  .and  politics,  was  descended  from  a  gentleman's 
family  by  both  parents,  and  was  born  at  Bough  ton  -  hall  in 
Kent,  March  30,   1568.     The  Wottons  were  of  no  incon- 
siderable  distinction,    having   possessed   this    lordship  for 
nearly  three  centuries.     Sir  Edward  Wotton,  our  states- 
man's grandfather,  was  treasurer  of  Calais,  and  of  the  privjv 
council  to  king  Henry  VIII.  and  was  elder  brother  to  the 
celebrated  Dr.  Nicholas  Wotton,  dean  of  Canterbury,  the 
subject  of  our  next  article.     Sir  Robert  Wotton,  the  father  * 
of  these,  was  entrusted  by  king  Edward  IV.  with  the  lieu- 
tenancy of  Guisnes,  and  was  knight-porter  and  comptrol- 
ler of  Calais ;  where  he  died  and  lies  buried;     Sir  Henry's- 
e^der  brother,  who  was  afterwards  raised  by  king  James  I, . 

*  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  I.— Aikio'i  Biog.  Memoirs  of  Mediciqe. 


294  WOTTON. 

to  the  peerage  by  the  title  of  lord  Wotton,  was  in  13B$ 
sent  by  queen  Elizabeth  ambassador  to  that  monarch  m 
Scotland ;  and  Dr.  Robertson  speaks  of  btm,  as  **  a  man, 
gay,  well-bred,  and  entertaining;  who  excelled  in  ait  the 
exercises,  for  which  James   had  a  passion,  amused  the 
young  king  by  relating  the  adventures  which  he  bad  met 
with,  and  the  observations  be  had  made  during  a  long*  resi- 
dence in  foreign  countries ;  but  under  the  veil  of  these  su- 
perficial qualities,"  Dr.  Robertson  adds,    that  "  he  eon- 
Sealed  a  dangerous  and  intriguing  spirit.     He  soon  grew  in 
favour  with  James,  and  while  he  was  seemingly  attentive 
only  to  pleasure  and  diversions,  he  acquired  influence  of  er 
the  public  councils,  to  a  degree,  which  was  indecent  for 
strangers  to  possess." 

Sir  Henry  was  the  only  son  of  the  second  marriage  of  his 
father  Thomas  Wotton,  esq.  with  Eleanora,  daughter  of 
sir  William  Finch,  of  EastweW  in  Kent  (ancestor  to  lord 
Wjnchelsea),  and  widow  of  Robert  Morton,  of  the  same 
county,  esq.  He  was  educated  first  under  private  tutors, 
artd  then  sent  to  Winchester-school ;  whence,  in  1 584,  be 
was  removed  to  New*  col  lege  in  Oxford.  Here  he  was 
entered  as  a  gentleman-commoner,  and  had  his  chamber 
in  Hart-hail  adjoining ;  and,  for  his  chamber-fellow,  Ri- 
chard Baker,  his  countryman,  afterwards  a  knight,  and  au- 
thor of  the  well  known  "  Chronicle"  which  goes  by  bis 
name.  Wotton  did  not  continue  long  there,  but  went  to 
Queen'g'college,  where  be  became  well  versed  in  logic 
and  philosophy;  and,  being  distinguished  for  bis  wit,  was 
solicited  to  write  a  tragedy  for  private  acting  in  that  society. 
The  name  of  it  was  u  Tancredo :"  and  Walton  relates, 
H  that  it  was  so  interwoven  with  sentences,  and  for  the  me* 
thod  and  exact  personating  those  humours,  passions,  axid 
dispositions,  wbich  he  proposed  to  represent,  so  performed, 
that  the  gravest  of  the  society  declared,  be  had  in  a  slight 
employment  given  an  early  and  solid  testimony  of  big  fu- 
ture abilities.'*  In  r598  he  supplicated  the  congregation 
of  regents,  that  be  might  be  admitted  to  the  reading  of  any 
of  the  books  of  Aristotle's  logic,  that  is,  be  admitted  to  tbe 
degree  of  bachelor  of  arts  ;  but  "  whether  he  was  admitted 
to  that  or  any  other  degree  doth  not  appear,"  says  Wood, 
"from  the  university  registers;9'  although  Walton  tells  us, 
that  about  his  20th  year  he  proceeded  master  of  arts,  and 
at  that  time  read  in  Latin  three  lectures  de  oculo,  on  tbe 
blessing  of  sight,  which  he  illustrated  by  some  beautiful 
passages  aud  apt  reflexions. 


W  O  T  T  O  N.  295 

In  1589  he  lost  his  father,  and  was  left  with  no  other 
provision  than  a  rent-charge  of  100  marks  a-year.     Soon 
after,  be  left  Oxford,  betook  himself  to  travel,  and  went 
into  France,  Germany,  and  Italy.  •  He  stayed  but  ope  year 
in  France,  and  part  of  that  at  Geneva ;  where  he  became 
Acquainted  with  Beza  and  Isaac  Casaubon.     Three  years  he 
spent  in  Germany,  and  five  in  Italy,  where  both  in  Rome, 
Venice,  and  Florence,  he  cultivated  acquaintance  with  the 
most  eminent  men  for  learning  and  all  manner  of  fine  arts; 
for  painting,  sculpture,  chemistry,  and  architecture ;  of  all 
which  be  was  an  amateur  and  an  excellent  jndge.     After 
having  spent  nine  years  abroad,  he  returned  to  England 
highly  accomplished,  and  with  a  great  accumulation  of 
knowledge  of  the  countries  through  which  be  had  passed. 
His  wit  and  politeness  so  effectually  recommended  him  to 
the  fcarl  of  Essex  that  he  first  admitted  him  into  his  friend- 
ship, and  afterwards  made  him  one  of  his  secretaries,  the 
celebrated  Mr.  Henry  Cuff  being  the  other.     (See  Cuff.) 
He  personally  attended  all  the  councils  and  employments 
of  the  earl,  and  continued  with  him  till  he  was  apprehended 
for  high  treason.    Fearing  now  lest  be  might,  from  his  inti- 
mate connexion,  be  involved  in  bis  patron's  ruin,  he  thought 
proper  to  retire,  and  was  scarcely  landed  in  France,  When 
he  heard   that  his  master  Essex  was   beheaded,  and   his 
friend  Cuff  hanged.     He  prdceeded  to  Florence,  and  was 
received  into  great  confidence  by  the  grand  duke  of  Tus- 
cany.   This  place  became  the  more  agreeable  to  him,  from 
his  meeting  with  sign  or  Vietta,  a  gentleman  of  Venice, 
with  whom  he  had  been  formerly  intimately  acquainted, 
and  who  was  now  the  grand  duke's  secretary.     It  was  dur- 
ing this  retreat  that  Mr.  Wotton  drew  up  his  "State  of 
Christendom,  or  a  most  exact  and  curious  discovery  of 
raatty  secret  pa$sages,  and  hidden  myteries  of  the  times." 
This  was  first  printed,  a  thin  fol.  in  1657,  and  afterwards  in 
1677,  with  a  small  alteration  in  the  title.     It  was  here  also . 
that  the  grand  duke  having  intercepted  letters  which  dis-  * 
covered  a  design  to  take  away   the  life  of  James  VI.  of 
Scotland,  dispatched  Wotton  thither  to  give  him  notice  of 
it.     Wotton  was  on  this  account,  as  well  as  according  to 
his  instructions,  to  manage  this  affair  with  all  possible  se- 
crecy :  and  therefore,  having  parted  from  the  duke,  he 
took  the  name  and  language  of  an  Italian ;  and  to  avoid 
the  line  of  English  intelligence  and  danger,  be  posted  into 
Norway,  and  from  that  country  to  Scotland.     He  found 


996  W  O  T  T  O  N; 

the  king  at  Stirling,  and  was  admitted  to  bint  under  the 
name  of  Octavio  Ifeldi.  He  delivered  bis  message  and  his 
letters  to  the  king  in  Italian  :  then,  stepping  up  and  whit** 
pering  to  his  majesty,  he  told  him  he  was  an  Englishman* 
requested  a  more  private  conference  with  him,  and  that  he 
might  be  concealed  during  his  stay  in  Scotland.  He  spent 
about  three  months  with  the  king,  who  was  highly  entex> 
tained  with  fyim,  and  then  returned  to  Florence,  where, 
*after  a  few  months,  the  npws  of  queen  Elizabeth's  death, 
and  of  king  James's  accession  to  the  crown  of  England, 
arrived. 

Sir  Henry  Wotton  then  returned  to  England,  and,  as  it 
seems,  not  sponer  than  welcome,  for  king  James,  finding, 
among  other  officers  of  the  late  queen,  sir  Edward,  who 
was  afterwards  lord  Wotton,  asked  him,  "  if  he  knew  one 
Henry  Wotton,  who  had  spent  much  time  in  foreign 
travel  ?"  Sir  Edward  replied,  that  "  he  knew  him  well,  and 
that  he  was  his  brother."  Then  the  king  asking,  "Where 
he  then  was  ?"  vyas  answered,  <f  at  Veuice,  or  Florence; 
but  would  soon  be  at  Paris."  The  king  ordered  him  to  be 
sent  for,  and  to  be  brought  privately  to  him;  which  being 
done,  the  king  took  him  into  his  arms*  and  saluted  him  by 
the  name  of  Octavio  BaldJ.  Then  he  knighted  .bim,  and 
nominated  him  ambassador  to  the  republic  pf  Venice; 
whither  he  went,  accompanied  by  sir  Albertus  Morton,  his. 
nephew,  who  was  his  secretary,  and  Mr.  William  Bedel, 
&,  man  of  great  learning  and  wisdom,  and  afterwards  bishop 
of  Kiimore  in  Ireland,  who  was  bis  chaplain,  He. con* 
tinued  many  years  in  king  James's  favour,  and  indeed 
never  entirely  forfeited  it,  although  he  had  once  the  mis- 
fortune to  displease  his  majesty,  by  an  apparently  trifling 
circumstance.  In  proceeding  as  ambassador  to  Venice,  he 
passed  through  Germany,  and  stayed  some  days  £t  Augs- 
burg; where,  happening  tp  spend  a  social  evening  with 
some  ingenious  and  learned  men,  whorp  he  had  before 
known  in  his  travels,  one  Christopher  Flecamore  requested 
bim  tp  write  some  sentence  in  his  Album,  a  paper  book 
which  the  (German  gentry  used  to  carry  febout  with  them 
for  that  purpose.  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  consenting  to  the 
motion,  took  occasion  frpm  some  incidental  discourse  of 
the  cpmpany,  tp  write  a  definition  of  an  ambassador  in 
these  words. :  "  Legatus  est  vir  bonus  peregre  mis&us  ad 
memiendum  Rpipubliqae  causa:"  which  Walton  says. he 
would  have  interpreted  thus:  "An  ambassador  is  an  honest 


W  O  T  T  O  N;  297 

mm  tent  to  He  abroad  for  the  good  of  bis  country."  The 
word  lie  was  the  binge  on  which  this  conceit  turned,  yet 
it  was  no  conceit  at  all  in  Latin,  and  therefore  could  not 
bear  the  construction  sir  Henry,  according,  to  Walton, 
wished  to  bave  puc  upon  it :  so  that  when  the  Album  fell 
afterwards  into  the  bands  of  Gaspar  Scioppius  (See  Sciop- 
Pius),  be  printed  it  in  bis  famous  book  against  king  James, 
as  a  principle  of  the  religion  professed  by  that  king,  and 
bis  ambassador  sir  Henry  Wotton ;  and  in  Venice  it  was 
presently  after  written  in  several  glass  windows,  and  spite- 
fully, declared  to  be  sir  Henry's.  This  coming  to  the 
knowledge  of  king  James,  be  apprehended  it  to  be  such  an 
oversight,  Such  weakness,  or  worse,  that  he  expressed 
much  anger  against  him ;  which  caused  sir  Henry  to  write 
two  apologies  in  Latin ;  one  to  Velserus  at  Augsburg,  which 
was  dispersed  into  the  cities  of  Germany,  and  another  to 
the  king  "  de  Caspare  Scioppio."  These  gave  such  satis- 
faction that  the  king  entirely  forgave  sir  Henry,  declaring 
publicly,  that  "  he  had  commuted  sufficiently  for  a  greater 
offence."  . 

After  this  embassy,  he  was  sent  twice  more  to  Venice, 
once  to  the  States  of  the  United  Provinces,  twice  to 
Charles  Emanuel  duke  of  Savoy,  dnce  to  the  united  princes' 
of  Upper  Germany ;  also  to  the  archduke  Leopold,  to  the 
duke  of  Wittemberg,  to  the  imperial  cities  of  Strasbujrgh 
and  Ulm, .and  lastly  to  the  emperor  Ferdinand  II.  He  re- 
turned to  England  the  year  before  king  James  died ;  and 
brought  with  him  many  servants,  of  which  some  were  Ger- 
man and  Italian  artists,  and  who  became  rather  burthensome 
to  bun ;  for  notwithstanding  the  many  public  services  in 
which  he  had  been  employed,  he  had  by  no  means  im- 
proved his  private  fortune,  which  was  also  impaired  by  his 
liberality  and  want  of  ceconomy.  As  some  recompense, 
which  may  at  first  appear  rather  a  singular  one  for  a  man 
who  had  spent  his  days  as  a  courtier  and  ambassador,  he 
was  in  1623  appointed  provost  of  Eton-college.  But  in 
fact  this  situation  was  very  agreeable  to  him,  for  he  was 
now  desirous  of  retiring  from  the  bustle  of  life,  and  passing 
the  evening  of  his  days  in  studious  pursuits.  Whoever 
peruses  his  "  Remains,9'  must  perceive  that  he  had  much 
of  the  literary  character,  and  finding  now  that  the  statutes 
of  the  college  required  the  provost  to  be  in  holy  orders, 
he.  was  ordained  deacon,  and -seemed  to  begin  a  new  life. 
His  usuaj  course  now  was,  after  his  customary  public  de? 


29S  W  O  T  T  O  N. 

votions,  to  retire  into  his  study,  and  there  daily  spend 
Some  hours  in  reading  the  Bible,  and  works  of  divinity, 
closing  those  studies  with  a  private  prayer.  His  afternoons 
he  spent  partly  in  philosophical  studies,  and  partly  in  con- 
versation with  his  friends,  or  in  some  recreation,  particu- 
larly angling.  His  sentiments  and  temper  during  his  lat- 
ter days  will  best  appear  by  what  he  said,  on  one  occasion, 
when  visited  by  the  learned  John  Hales,  then  k  fellow  of  Eton. 
"  I  have  in  my  passage  to  my  grave  met  with  most  of  those 
joys  of  which  a  discursive  soul  is  capable ;  and  have  been 
entertained  with  more  inferior  pleasures  than  the  soul*  Of 
men  are  usually  made  partakers  of.  Nevertheless,  in  this 
voyage  I  have  not  always  floated  on  the  calm  sea  of  coo* 
tent ;  but  have  often  met  with  cross  winds  and  storms,  and 
with  many  troubles  of  mind  and  temptations  to  evil.  And 
yet  though  I  have  been,  and  am  a  man  compassed  about 
with  human  frailties,  Almighty  God  has  by  his  grace  pre- 
vented me  from  making  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good  con- 
science ;  the  thought  of  which  is  now  the  joy  of  my  heart, 
and  I  most  humbly  praise  him  for  it.  And  I  humbly  ac- 
knowledge, that  it  was  not  myself,  but  he  that  bath  kept 
me  to  this  great  age,  and  let  him  take  the  glory  of  his  great 
mercy.  And,  my  dear  friend,  I  now  see  that  I  draw  near 
my  harbour  of  death  ;  that  harbour  will  secure  me  from  all 
th$  future  storms  and  waves  of  this  restless  world  ;  and  I 
praise  God  I  am  willing  to  leave  it,  and  expect  a  better ; 
that  world  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  ;  and  I  long 
tor  it." 

Sir  Henry  Wotton  died  in  December  1639,  and  was  bu- 
ried in  the  chapel  belonging  to  the  college.  In  his  will  he 
appointed  this  epitaph  to  be  put  over  his  grave :  "  Hie 
jacet  hujus  sententiie  primus  auctor,  D  is  put  audi  Pruritus 
JEcclesia  Scabies.  Nomen  alias  quaere  :**  that  is,  "  Here 
lies  the  first  author  of  this  sentence :  *  The  itch  of  disputa- 
tion-is the  scab  of  the  church.'     Seek  his  name  elsewhere." 

Sir  Henry  Wotton  was  a  man  of  eminent  learning  and 
abilities,  and  greatly  esteemed  by  his  contemporaries.  His 
knowledge  was  very  extensive,  and  his  taste  perhaps  not  in* 
ferior  to  that  of  any  man  of  his  time.  Among  other  proofs 
of  it,  he  was  among  the  first  who  were  delighted  with  Mil- 
ton's mask*  of  Comus;  and  although  Mr.  Warton  has  pro- 
nounced him  to  be  "  on  the  whole  a  mixed  and  desultory 
character,"  he  has  found  San  able  defender  in  a  living  au- 
thor of  equal  taste  and  judgment,  who  observes  on  Mr. 


W  O  T  T  O  N.  *M 

Warton's  expression,  that  "  this  in  a  strict  sense  may  be 
tine)  but  surely  not  in  the  way  of  censure.  He  mingled 
the  character  of  an  active  statesman  with  that  of  a  recluse 
scholar;  and  be  wandered  from  the  crooked  and  thorny 
intrigues  of  diplomacy  into  the  flowery  paths  of  the  muses. 
But  is  it  not  high  praise  to  have  been  thus  desultory  ?" 
The  same  writer  says  of  sir  Henry  as  a  poet,  "  It  may  be 
true,  that  sir  Henry's  genius  was  not  suited  to  the  bighet 
conceptions  of  Milton.  His  mind  was  subtle  and  elegant 
rather  than  sublime.  ,  In  truth  the  habits  of  a  diplomatist, 
and  of  a  great  poet,  are  altogether  incompatible/'  but 
"for  moral  and  didactic  poetry,  the  experience  of  a  states- 
man does  not  disqualify  him,"  and  of  this  species,  sir 
Henry  has  left  some  exquisite  specimens.  He  seems  to 
have  lived  in  a  perpetual  struggle  between  his.  curiosity 
respecting  the  world,  fomented  by  his  ambition,  and  his 
love  of  books,  contemplation,  and  quiet.  His  letters  to 
sir  Edmund  Bacon,  who  married  his  niece,  prove  his  strong 
family  affections.  His  heart  appears  to  have  been  moulded 
with  a  high  degree  of  moral  tenderness.  This,  both  the 
sentiments  attributed  to  him  by  Walton,  and  the  cast  of 
his  poems,  sufficiently  evince. 

He  was  a  great  enemy  to  wrangling  and  disputes  about 
religion ;  and  used  to  cut  inquiries  short  by  witticisms. 
To  one  who  asked  him,  "  Whether  a  Papist  may  be  saved  ?" 
he  replied,  "  You  may  he  saved  without  knowing  that : 
look  to  yourself."  To  another,  who  was  railing  at  the 
papists  with  more  zeal  than  knowledge,  he  gave  this  ad- 
vice :  "  Pray,  Sir,  forbear,  till  you  have  studied  the  pofnts 
better ;  for,  the  wise  Italians  have  this  proverb,  '  He  that 
understands  amiss  concludes  worse ;'  and  beware  of  think- 
ing, that,  the  farther  you  go  from  the  church  of  Rome, 
the  nearer  you  are  to  God."  One  or  two  more  of  his  bohs 
mots  are  preserved.  A  pleasant  priest  of  his  acquaintance 
at  Rome  invited  him  one  evening  to  hear  their  vesper- 
music,  and  seeing  him  standing  in  an  obscure  corner  of 
the  church,  sent  a  boy  to  him  with  this  question,  writ  upon 
a  scrap  of  paper,  "  Where  was  your  religion  to  be  found 
before  Luther?"  To  which  sir  Henry  sent  back  under- 
written, "Where  yours  is  not  to  be  found,  in  the  written 
word  of  God."  Another  evening,  sir  Henry  sent  a  boy  of 
the  choir  with  this  question  to  his  friend:  "  Do  you  be- 
lieve those  many  thousands  of  poor  Christians  damned  who 
were  excommunicated  because  the  pope  and  the  duke  of 


300  W  O  T  T  O  N. 

Venice  could  not  agree  about  their  temporalities?99     To 
which  the   priest  underwrit  in  French,    "  Excusez   moi, 
.  Monsieur." 

Sir  Henry  Wotton  had  proposed,  after  he  was  settled  at 
Eton,  to  write  the  "  Life  of  Martin  Luther,"  and  in  it 
"  The  History  of  the  Reformation,"  as  it  was  carried  orr  in 
Germany.  He  bad  made  some  progress  in  this  work*  when 
Charles  I.  prevailed  with  him  to  lay  that  aside,  and  to  apply 
himself  to  the  writing  of  a  history  of  England.  He  pro- 
ceeded to  sketch  out  some  short  characters  as  materials, 
which  are  in  his  "  Reliquiae,"  but  proceeded  no  farther. 

His  works  separately  or  collectively  published  were,   i. 
u  Epistola  de  Caspare  Scioppio,"  Amberg,  1613,  8 vo.     2. 
"  Epistola  ad  Marcum  Velserum  duumvirum  Augustas  Vin- 
delic.  ann.  1612."     3.  "The  Elements  of  Architecture," 
Lond.  1624,  4to,  a  treatise  still  held  in  estimation.     It  was 
translated  into  Latin,  and  'annexed  to  the  works  of  Vitru- 
vius,  and  to  Freart's  "  Parallel  of  the  ancient  architecture 
with  the  modern."     4.  "  Plausus  et  Vota  ad  regem  e  Sco- 
tia reducem,"  Lond.  1633,  small  folio,  reprinted  in  Lam- 
phire's  "Monarchia  Britannica,"  Oxford,  1681,  8vo.     5. 
€C  Parallel  between  Robert  earl  of  Essex  and  George  late 
duke  of  Bucks,"   London,  1641,  4to,  not  remarkable  for 
the  judgment  displayed.     There  were  scarcely  any  paral- 
lelisms in  the  twa  characters.      6.  "  Short  View  of  the 
life  and  death  of  George  Duke  of  Bucks,"  London,  1642,4to. 

7.  "  Difference  and  disparity  between  the  estates  and  con- 
ditions of  George  duke  of  Bucks  and  Robert  earl  of  Essex." 

8.  "  Characters  of,  and  observations  on  some  kings  of  Eng- 
land."    9.  "  The  election  of  the  new  duke  of  Venice  after 
the  death  of  Giovanni  Bembo."     \6.  "  Philosophical  Sur- 
vey of  Education,  cfr  moral  Architecture."     11.  ."Apho- 
risms of  Education."     12.  "  The  great  Action   between 
Pompey  and  Caesar  extracted  out  of  the  Roman  and  Greek 
writers."      13.  "  Meditations  on  the  22d  chapter  of.  Gene- 
sis."    14.  "  Meditations  on  Christmas  day."     15.  "  Leu 
ters  to  and  characters  of  certain  personages."    16.  "  Various 
Poems."     All  or  most  of  these  pieces  are  published  toge- 
ther in  a  volume  entitled  "Reliquiae  Wottonianae,"  at  Lon- 
don, 1651,  1654,  1672,  and  1685,   in  8vo.     17.  "  Letters 
to  sir  Edmund  Bacon,"  London,  1661,  8vo,  reprinted  with 
some  editions  of  "  Reliquiae  Wottonianae."     18.  "  Letters 
to  the  Lord  Zouch,"  printed  at  the  end  of  "  Reliquiae  Wot- 
tonianae" in  the  edition  of  1685.   19.  "The  State  of  Chris- 


WOTTON.  >301 

tendom;  or  a  more  exact  and. curious  discovery  of  maay 
secret  passages  and  hidden  mysteries  of  the  times,"  Lon- 
don, 1657,  folio,  reprinted  at'  London  in  1667,  folio,  with 
this  title;  "The  State  of  Christendom,  giving  a  perfect 
and  exact  discovery  of  many  political  intrigues  and  secret 
mysteries  of  state  practised  in  most  of  the  courts  of  Europe, 
with  ?ui  account  of  their  several  claims,  interests,  and  pre- 
tensions.'* 20.  He  hath  also  several  letters  to  George 
duke  of  Bucks  in  the  "  Cabala,  Mysteries  of  State,9'  Lon- 
don, 1654,  4to,  and  in  "Cabala, or  Serin ia  sacra,"  London, 
1663,  folio.  21.  "Journal  of  his  Embassies  to  Venice,'* 
a  manuscript  fairly  written,  formerly  in  the  library  of  Ed- 
ward lord  Conway.  22.  "Three  propositions  to  the  Count 
d'Angosciola  it)  matter  of  duel,  comprehending  (as  it  seems) 
the  <  latitude  of  that  subject ;"  a  manuscript  some  time  in 
the  library  of  Ralph  Sheldon,  esq.;  and  since  in  ttiat  of 
the  college  of  arms.1 

-  WOTTON  (Nicholas),  an  eminent  statesman  and  dean 
of  Canterbury,  was,  as  we  have  already  noticed,  grand 
uncle  to  the  preceding  sir  Henry.  He  was  the  fourth  son 
of  sir  Robert  Wotton,  knt.  by  Anne  Belknapp,  daughter  of 
sir  Henry  Belknapp,  knt.  and  was  born  about  1497.  He 
was  educated  in  the  university  of  Oxford,  where  he  studied 
the  canon  and  civil  law,  his  skill  in.  which  recommended 
him  to  the  notice  of  Tunstall,  bishop  of  London,  to  whom 
he  became  official  in  1528,  being  at  that  time  doctor  of 
laws.  Having  entered  into  the  church,  he  was  collated  by 
archbishop  Warbam  to  the  rectory  of  Ivychurch  in  the 
county  of  Kent.  But  this  benefice  he  resigned  in  1555, 
reserving  to  himself  a  pension  of  twenty-two  marks,  one 
third  of  its  reputed  value,  during  .his  life.  He  continued 
to  act  as  a  civilian ;  and  in  1536,  when  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced upon  Anne  Bojeyo,  he  appeared  in  court,  as  her 
proctor. 

In  1538  archbishop  Cranmer  constituted  him  commissary 
of  his  faculties  for  the  term  of  his  natural  life.  About  the 
same  time  be  became  chaplain  to  the  king,  who  in  1539 
nominated  him  to  the  archdeaconry  of  Gloucester,  then 
vacant  by  the  promotion  of  archdeacon  Bell  to  the  see  of 
Worcester.  His  next  promotion  was  to  the  deanery  of 
Canterbury  in  1541 ;  in  addition  to  which  he  obtained  in 

1  Life  by  Walton. — Biog.  Brit.-— Life  by  tir  Egerton  Brvdges  in  the  Biblio- 
grapher, vol.  M.— Burnet's  Lift  of  Bedel.— Garwood'*  Alumni  Etoneases. — 
Topographer,  vol.  I. 


«02  WOTTON. 

1544  the  deanery  of  York,  and  was  the  only:  person  wfcp 
ever  possessed  at  the  same  time  the  deaneries  of  the  two 
metropolitan  churches*  In  1545  he  was  presented  to  the 
prebend  of  Osbaldwick  in  York  cathedral;.  Jn  155$  here- 
signed  the  archdeaconry  of  Gloucester,  and  was  presented 
in  1 557  to  the  treasuryship  of  the  church  of  Exeter,  which 
be  also  relinquished  the  succeeding  year. 

Such  were  the  appointments  which  Wotton  obtained, 
but  in  1539  he  had  refused  a  bishopric,  and  it  is  said  that 
he  refused  the  see  of  Canterbury,  so  that  whatever  he 
might  be  as  a  courtier,  he  was  an  unambitious  ecclesiastic. 
His  talents  indeed  were  better  suited  to  political  negocisv 
tion,  and  accordingly  he  was  often  employed  on. foreign 
embassies.  His  first  service  abroad  is  thought  to  have  been 
his  embassy  to  Cleves  in  1539,  in  order  to  carry  on  the 
treaty  of  marriage  between  Henry  and  the  Jady  Anne  ;  and 
it  fell  to  his  lot  afterwards  to  acquaint  the  duke  of  Cleves 
with  Henry's  repudiation  of  his  sister.  In  1546  he  was  one 
of  the  commissioners  who  met  at  Carnpe,  a  small  place  be- 
tween Ardres  and  Guisnes,  in  order  to  negociate  peace 
between  England,  Scotland,  and  France.  In\ September  fol- 
lowing he  obtained  the  royal  dispensation  for  non-resideace 
on  his  preferments,  being  then  the  king's  ambassador  in 
France,  and  was  there  at  the  death  of  Henry,  by  whose 
will  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  executors  to  whom,  during 
the  minority  of  his  son  Edward  V L  he  entrusted  the  go- 
vernment of  the  kingdom. 

During  the  reign  of  Edward,  the  abilities  of  Wotton  were 
exercised  not  only  abroad,  but  also  in  his  own  country ;  as 
he  held,  for  a  short  time,  the  distinguished  office  of  prin- 
cipal secretary  of  state,  to  which  he  was  appointed  in 
1549,  but  resigned  it  in  1550  to  Cecil.  He  was  one  of 
the  council  who,  on  Oct.  6,  1549,  seceded  from  the  pro- 
tector, and  who  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  young  king  on 
the  encroachments  of  that  unfortunate  nobleman.  In  155  L, 
he  was  sent  ambassador  to  the  emperor,  in  order  to  explain 
that  no  absolute  assurance  had  ever  been  made  to  the  lady 
Mary,  in  respect  to  the  exercise  of  her  religion,  but  that 
only  a  temporary  connivance  had  been  granted  under  the 
hope  of  her  amendment.  Mary  had  been  threatened,  as 
well  as  pressed,  on  the  point  of  conformity,  and  she  did  not 
fail  to  represent  in  the  most  odious  lights  these  proceedings 
to  her  kinsman  Charles,  who,  by  his  ambassador,  remon- 
strated to  the  English  court  on  her  behalf,  and  Edward), 


W  O  T  T  O  N.  303 

prevailed  upon  by  his  council,  sent  Wotton.  to  continue  a 
good  correspondence  with  bia  imperial  majesty.  At  the 
death  of  Edward,  Wotton,  sir  William  Pickering,  and  sir 
Thomas  Chaloner,  were  ambassadors  in  France,  whence 
they  wrote  to  Mary  on  her  accession  to  the  throne,  acknow- 
ledging her  queen,  and  ceasing  to  act  any  further  in  their 
public  character.  But  in  this  capacity  she  thought  proper 
to  continue  Wotton,  with  whom  she  joined  sir  Anthony  St* 
Leger. 

From  France  the  dean  is  said,  to  have  written  to  the  queen 
in  1553,  on  the  following  subject.  He.  dreamed  that  hi* 
nephew  Thomas  Wotton  was  inclined  to  be  a  party  in  such 
a  project,  as,  if  he  were  not  suddenly  prevented,  would 
turn  out  both  to  the  loss  of  bis  life,  and  the  ruin  of  his  fa* 
miiy.  Accordingly  he  resolved  to  use  such  a  preventive, 
as  might  be  of  no  inconvenience  either  to  himself  or  his 
nephew.  He  therefore  wrote  to  Mary,  requesting  that  his 
nephew  might  be  sent  for  out  of  Kent,  and  that  he  might 
be  interrogated  by  the  lords  of  the  council  in  some  such 
feigned  speeches,  as  would  give  a  colour  to  bis  commit- 
ment to  &  favourable  prison.  He  added,  that  he  would  ac- 
quaint her  majesty  with  the  true  reason  of  his  request, 
when  he  should  next  become  so  happy  as  to  see  and  speak 
to  ber.  It  was  accordingly  done  as  he  desired,  >  but  whe- 
ther he  gave  her  majesty  "  the  true  reason,9'  we  are  not 
informed.  The  subject  dwelling  much  on  the  dean's  mind, 
he  might  have  had  a  dream,  yet  the  whole  was  probably  an 
ingenious  precaution  to  prevent  his  nephew  from  being  in* 
vol.yed  in  Wyat's  rebellion  (which  broke  out  soon  after), 
and  which  he  was  afraid  might  be  the  case,  from  the  ancient 
friendship  that  hod  subsisted  between  the  families  of  Wot- 
ton and  Wyat. 

The  last  important  service  Wotton  performed  in  the 
reign  of  queen  Mary  was  in  1557,  when  he  detected  the 
rebellions  plot  of  Thomas  Stafford,  the  consequence  of 
which  was  Stafford's  defeat .  and  execution,  and  a  declara- 
tion of  war  against  France.  At  the  queen's  death  he  was 
acting  as  one  of  the  commissioners  to  treat  of  a  peace  be- 
tween England,  Spain,  and  France,  and  in  this  station 
queen  Elizabeth  retained  him  (having  also  appointed  btfln 
a  privy-counsellor),  and  after  much  negociation  peace  was 
concluded  at  Chateau-Cambresis  April  2,  1559.  He  was 
afterwards  commissioned  with  lord  Howard  and  sir  Ntcho~ 
las  Tbrogmorton  to  receive  from  the  French  king  the  con* 
firmaiion  of  the  treaty. 


364  WOTTON. 

This  peace,  however,  was  of  short  duration.  The  am* 
Jritious  proceedings  of  the  French  court  in  1.159,  and  the 
success  of  their  arms  against  the  Scotch  protestants,  were 
sufficient  to  excite  the  vigilance  of  Elizabeth.  Her  indig- 
nation at  the  claim  of  Mary  (queen  of  Scots)  to  the  Eng-> 
lish  crown,  a  claim  which  the  French  hoped  to  establish, 
and  the  declining  affairs  of  the  reformers  who  solicited  her 
assistance,  at  length  determined  ber  to  send  a  powerful, 
force  to  Scotland.  In  the  event  of  this  quarrel  the  French 
were  obliged  to  capitulate,  and  commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed to  treat  of  peace.  Those  on  the  part  of  England 
were  dean  Wotton  and  sir  William  Cecil;  on  that  of 
France,  Mouluc  bishop  of  Valence,  and  the  Sieur  de  Ran- 
dan. The  interests  of  the  English  and  French  courts  were 
soon  adjusted ;  but  to  a  formal  treaty  with  the  Scots,  the 
French  ambassador  considered  it  derogatory  from  the  dig- 
nity of  their  sovereign  to  accede.  The  redress  of  their 
grievances  was,  however,  granted  in  the  name  of  Francis 
and  Mary,  and  accepted  by  the  Scots,  as  an  act  of  royal 
indulgence.  And  whatever  concessions  they  obtained, 
whether  in  respect  to  their  personal  safety,  or  their  public 
demands,  the  French  ambassadors  agreed  to  insert  in  the 
treaty  with  Elizabeth ;  so  that  they  were  sanctioned,  though 
not  with  the  name,  yet  with  all  the  security  of  the  most  so* 
lemn  negociation.  The  treaty"  was  signed  at  Edinburgh, 
July  6,  1560. 

The  public  services  of  Wotton  were  afterwards  employed 
in  regard  to  the  trade  of  the  English  merchants,  who  had 
been  ill-treated  not  only  in  Spain,  but  more  particularly  in 
the  Netherlands,  upon  pretence  of  civil  differences,  but  in 
"fact  out  of  hatred  to  the  protestant  religion.  They  there* 
fore  removed  their  mart  to  Embden  in  East  FrieslaneL  But 
Guzman  de  Sylva  (canon  of  Toledo),  then  the  Spanish  am- 
bassador in  England,  endeavoured  to  compose  these  diffe* 
rences,  which  he  found  materially  to  affect  the  interests  of 
the  Netherlands.  At  length  Elizabeth,  and  the  duchess  of 
Parma,  regent  of  the  Low-  Countries,  exchanged  in  Dec. 
1564,  a  mutual  agreement,  by  which  the  commerce  be- 
tween the  two  countries  was  restored,  and  viscount  Mon- 
tague, dean  Wotton,  and  Dr.  Haddon,N  were  sent  commis- 
sioners to  Bruges  in  order  to  a  full  discussion  of  the  subject. 
But,  in  the  following  year,  the  troubles  in  the  Netherlands 
pat  a  stop  to  their  farther  conference,  after  it  had  beet) 
agreed,  that  there  should  be  an  open  trade,  till  one  prince 


W  O  T  T  O  N.  SOS 

t 

denounced  war  against  the  other;  and  in  that  case,  the 
merchants  should  hare  forty  days  notice  to  dispose  of  them* 
selves  and  their  effects. 

This  was  probably  the  last  employment  of  the  dean, 
which  indeed  he  did  not  Jong  survive*  He  died  at  his 
house  in  Warwick-lane,  Jan.  25,  1566,  aged  about  seventy, 
,  and  was  interred  in  Canterbury  cathedral,  in  the  chapel  of 
.the  Holy  Trinity,  where  is  a  beautiful  and  much  admired 
monument,  part,  if  not  the  whole  of  which,  was  executed 
at  Rome.  He  is  represented  kneeling  at  bis  devotions; 
the  head  is  said  to  have  been  carved  by, his  own  order,  while 
living.  Over  his  figure  is  a  very  long  Latin  inscription, 
containing  many  particulars  of  his  life.  As  he  died  un- 
married, he  left  his  nephew  Thomas  Wotton  his  heir. 

The  dean's  life,  we  have  seen,  was  chiefly  devoted  to 
political  affairs,  yet  he  was  not  wholly  unemployed  as  a 
divine.     In  1537,  the  more  learned  ecclesiastics  of  that 
period  were  called  together  in  order  to  the  composition  of 
the  book  entitled  "  The  godly  and  pious  institutioa  of  a 
Christian  man  ;"  among  these  was  Dr.  Wotton.     To  their 
discussion  and  judgment  many  of  the  principal  points  of 
religion  were  submitted.     From  his  compliance  under  the 
differing  reigns  of  Henry,  Edward,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth,  ' 
he  has  been  concluded  to  be  a  time-server,  and  a  man  of 
ho  decided  religious  principle*;  and  he  certainly  is  rather 
to  be  considered  as  a  politician  than  an  ecclesiastic,  for  it 
was  in  the  former  character  principally  that  his  services* 
were  required  by  his  respective  sovereigns.     His  learning 
is  said  to  have  been  profound,  and  extensive,  find  to  have 
been  displayed  to  the  greatest  advantage  in  the  force  of 
his  arguments,  and  in  the  easiness  of  his  elocution.     In 
council  bis  sentiments  were  delivered  with  admirable  dis- 
cretion, and  maintained  with  undaunted  resolution.     The 
'  Vigilance  of  his  political  conduct,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
distinguished  him  as  an  exemplary  statesman  ;  and  the  fa* 
cility  with  which  he  could  discuss  the  merit?  of  a  cause 
(his   method   being  exact,   and    his    memory   tenacious), 
marked  him  as  an  acute  civilian.     His  knowledge  of  trade 
'  and   commerce  was  no  less  conspicuous,  and  in  an  ac-* 
quaintance  with  the  polity  of  nations  he  was  inferior  to 
none.  "  To  the  greatness  of  his  character  Holinsbed  and 
Camden  have  bequeathed  their  testimonies ;  and  Henry 
VIII.  is  said  to  have  thus  addressed  him,  when  he  was 
about  to  depart  on  spi  embassy,  "  Sir,  I  have  sent  a  head 

Vol.  XXXII.  X 


306  W  O  T  T  O  N. 

by  Cromwell,  a  purse  hy  Wolsey,  a  sword  by  Branded  and 
I  must  fiow  send  the  law  by  you  to  treat  with  enemies." '  < 
WOTTON  (William),  an  English  divine  of  uncommon 
parts  and  teaming,  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Henry  Wotton,  , 
rector  of  Wrentbam,  in  Suffolk,  a  man  of  considerable 
learning  also,  and  well  skilled  in  the  Oriental  tongue&  He 
was  born  at  Wcentham  the  1 3th  of  August,  1666,  and  was 
educated  by  his  father.  He  discovered  a  most  extraor- 
dinary genius  for  learning  languages  ;  and,  though  what  is 
related  of  him  upon  this  head  may  appear  wonderful,  yes 
it  is  so  .well  attested  that  we  know  not  how  to  refuse  it 
Credit.  Sir  Philip  Skippon,  who  lived  at  Wrentbam,  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  John. Ray,  Sept.  IS,  167  J,  writes  thus  of  him  s 
"  I  shall  somewhat  surprise  you  with  what  1  have  seen  in  a 
little  boy,  William  Wotton,  five  year*  old  the  last  month, 
the  son  of  Mr.  Wotton,  minister  of  this  parish,  who  hath* 
instructed  his  child  within  the  last  three  quarters  of  a  year, 
in  the  reading  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew  languages* 
which  be  can  read  almost  as  well  as  English;  and  that 
tongue  be,  could  read  at  four  years  and  three  months  old 
as  well  as  most  lads  of  twice  his  age*  I  could  send  you- 
many  particulars  about  bis  rendering  chapters  and  psalm? 
out  of  the  three  learned  languages  into  English,'9  &c. 
Among  sir  Philip's  papers  was  found  a  draught  of  a  longer 
letter  to  Mr.  Ray,  in  which  these  farther  particulars  are* 
added  to  the  above;  "  He  is  not  yet  able  to  parse  any 
language/  but  what  hq  performs  in  turning  the  three 
learned  tongues  it\to  English  is,  done  by  strength  6f  me- 
mory; so  that  he  is  ready  to  mistake  when  some  words  of 
different  signification  have  near  the  same  sound.  His  father 
hath  taught  him  by  no  rules,  but  only  uses  the  child's  me- 
mory in  remembering  words :  some  other  children  of  his> 
age  seem  to  have  as  good  a  fancy  and  as  quick  apprehen- 
sion." He  was  admitted  of  Catharine  Hall,  Cambridge,  in 
April  1676,  some  mouths  before  he  was  ten  years  old ;  and. 
upon  hk  admission  Dr.  John  Eachard,  then  master  of  the 
college,  gave  him  this  remarkable  testimony:  Gulielmus 
Wottonus  infra  decern  annas  nee  Ilammondo  nee  Groth  $e- 
cundits.  His  progress  in  learning  was  answerable  to  the  e»- ; 
pectat  tons  conceived  of  him;  and  Dr.  Duport,  the  master. 
of  Magdaleft-coliege*  and  dean  of  Peterborough,  has  de- 

;  l  tfoifcj'ft  Account  of  the  pepm  of  Canterbury  .-♦-Lodgfc's  fllustrationf.— W*l« 
too  Y  Life  of  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  Zoych>  edition. — Cootv's iCMalog i>e  of  Civilians. 


WOTTON.  307 

ieribtii  it  in  an  elegant  copy  of  verses ;  "  In  GelielmtH* 
Wottonum  stupendi  ingenii  et  iftcomparabilis  spei  puerrnn 
vixdum  duodecira  annorum."  He  then  goes  on  to  cele- 
brate bis  skill  in  the  languages,  not  only  in  the  Greek  and 
Latin,  which  he  understood  perfectly,  but  also  in  the  He- 
brew, Arabic,  Syriac,  Chaldee;  his  skill  too  in  arts  and 
sciences,  in  geography,  logic,  philosophy,  mathematics, 
chronology. 

In  1679  be  took  the  degree  of  B,  A.  when  be  was  but 
twelve  years  and  five  months  old  ;  and,  the  winter  follow- 
ing, was  invited  to  London  by  Dr.  Gilbert  Burnet,  then 
preacher  at  the  Rolls,  who  introduced  him  to  almost  all  the 
learned;  and  among  the  rest  to  Dr.  William  Lloyd,  bishop 
of  St.  Asaph,  who  was  so  highly  pleased  with  him,  that  he 
took  him  as  an  assistant  in  making  the  catalogue  of  his  \U 
brary,  and  carried  him  the  summer  following  to  St  Asapht 
Upon  his  return,  Dr.  Turner,  afterwards  bishop  of  Ely, 
procured  him  by  his  interest  a  fellowship  in  (St.  John's  col- 
ege,  where  he  took  his  degree  of  M.  A.  in  1683,  and  in 
1691  he  commenced  bachelor  of  divinity.  The  same  year 
bishop -Lloyd  gave  him  the  sinecure  of  Llandrillo,  in  Den- 
bighshire. He  was  afterwards  made  chaplain  to  the  earl  of 
Nottingham,  then  secretary  of  state,  who  in  1693  presented 
him  to  the  rectory  of  Middleton  Keynes,  in  Buckingham* 
shire.  In  1694  he  published  "  Reflections  upon  Ancient 
and  modern  Learning;"  and  dedicated  his  book  to  his  pa- 
tron the  earl  of  Nottingham.  To  settle  the  bounds  of  all 
branches  of  literature,  and  all  arts  and  sciences,  as  they 
have  been  .extended  by  both  ancients  and  moderns,  and 
thus  to  make  a  comparison  between  each,  was  a  work  too 
vast,  one  should  think,  for  any  one  man,  even  for  a  whole 
life  spent  in  study.;  yet  it  was  executed  with  very  consi- 
derable ability  by  Mr.  Wotton  at  twenty-eight  years  of 
age ;  and  if  it  did  involve  him  somewhat  in  the  controversy 
between  Boyle  and  Bentley,  that  was  rather  owing  to  his 
connections  with  Bentley,  whose  "  Dissertations  upon  Pha- 
laris,"  &c.  were  printed  at  the  end  of  the  2d  edition  of  his 
book  in  1697,  than  to  any  intermeddling  of  his  own.  Boyle 
himself  acknowledged  that  "  Mr.  Wotton  is  modest  and 
decent,  speaks  .generally  with  respect  of  those  he  differs 
from,  and  with  a  due  distrust  of  his  own  opinion.  His 
book  has  a  vein  of  learning  running  through  it,  where  there 
is  no  ostentation  of  it,"  This .  and  much  more  is  true  of 
Wottoo's  performance;  yet  it  must  not  be  dissembled, 

x  2 


-308  WOTTON. 

i 

that  thi9,  as  it  stands  in  Boyle's  book,  appears  to  have 
been  said  rather  for  the  sake  of  reflecting  on  Bentley  than. 
to  commend, Wotton.  Wotton  suffered,  as  is  well  known, 
under  the  satirical  pen  of  Swift;  and  this  induced  him  to 
write  "  A  Defence  of  the  Reflections  upon  Ancient  and 
Modem  Learning,  in  answer  to  the  objections  of  sir  Wil- 
liam Temple  and  others;"  with  "Observations  upon  the 
Tale  of  a  Tub  ;"  reprinted  with  a  third  corrected  edition  of 
the  "Reflections,"  &c.  in  1705,  8Vo.  He  says  that  this 
"Tale  is  of  a  very  irreligious  nature,  and  a  crude  banter 
upon  all  that  is  esteemed  as  sacred  among  all  sects  and 
'  religions  among  men  ;"  and  his  judgment  of  that  famous 
piece  is  confirmed  by  that  of  Mr.  Moyle,  in  the  following 
passage  :  "  I  have  read  over  the  *  Tale  of  a  Tub.'  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  wild  wit  in  it,  which  pleases  by  its  extra-' 
vagance  and  uncommonness ;  but  I  think  it,  upon  the 
whole,  the  profanest  piece  of  ribaldry  which  has  appeared 
since  the  days  of  Rabelais,  the  great  original  of  banter  and 
ridicule." 

His  "  Reflections"  were  published,  as  already  noticed, 
in  1694.     In  1695  he  published,  in  the  "Philosophical 
Transactions/'  an  "  Abstract"  of  Agostino  Scilla's   book 
concerning  marine  bodies  which  are  found  petrified  in  se- 
veral places  at  land  ;  and  in  1697,  a  "Vindication"  of  that 
abstract,  which   was  subjoined   to    Dr.  John   ArbuthnotV 
"  Examination  of  Dr.  Woodward's  Account  of  the  Deluge,'* 
&c.     In  1701,  he  published  "  The  History  of  Rome  from 
the  death  of  Antoninus  Pius  to  the  death,  of  Severus  Alex- 
ander," in  8vo.     He  paid  great  deference  to  the  authority 
of  medals  in  illustrating  this  history,  and  prefixed  several 
tables  of  them  to  his  book,  taken  chiefly  from  the  collec- 
tions ofAngeloni,  Morell,  and  Vaillant.     This  work  was 
undertaken  at  the  direction  of  bishop  Burnet,  and  intended 
for  the  use  of  his  lordship*s  royal  pupil,  the  duke  of  Glou- 
cester, who,  however,  did  not  live  to  see  it. finished.     It 
Was  therefore  dedicated  to  the  bishop,  to  whom  Wotton 
had  been  greatly  obliged  io  his  youth,  and  who  afterwards, 
in  1705,  gave  him  a  prebend  in  the  church,  of  Salisbury. 
This  history  was  esteemed  no  inconsiderable  performance : 
M.  Leibnitz  immediately  recommended  it  to  George  II.  his 
late  majesty,  then  electoral  prince  of  Hanover ;  and  it  was 
the  first  piece  of  Roman  history  which   he.  read  in  our 
language. 

In  1706  Wotton  preached  a  visitation-sermon,  at<  New- 


WOTTON.  309 

port-Pagnel  in  Backs,  against  TindaPs  bookof u  The  Rights 
of  the  Christian  Church,"  and  printed  it.  This  was  the 
first  answer  that  was  written  to  that  memorable  perform- 
ance ;  and  it  was  also  the  first  piece  which  Wotton  published 
as  a  divine.  In  1707,  archbishop  Tenison  presented  hind 
with  the  degree  of  doctor  of  divinity.  In  1708  he*  drew 
op  a  short  view  of  Dr.  Hickes's  "  Thesaurus ;"  but  the  ap- 
pendix and  notes  are  Hickes's  own.  In  1714  the  difficul- 
ties he  was  under  in  his  private  fortune,  for  he  had  not  a 
grain  of  economy,  obliged  him  to  retire  into  South  Wales, 
where,  though  he  had  much  leisuret  he  had  few  books. 
Yet,  being  too  active  in  his  nature  to  be  idle,  he  drew  up, 
at  the  request  of  Browne  Willis,  esq.  who  afterwards  pub- 
lished them,  the  "  Memoirs  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  St. 
David,"  in  1717,  and  of  "Landaff"  in  1719.  Here  he 
also  wrote  his  "  Miscellaneous  discourses  relating  to  the 
traditions  and  usages  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,"  &c. 
which  was  printed  1718,  in  2  vols.  8vo.  Le  Clerc  tells  us 
that  "  great  advantage  may  be  made  by  reading  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Rabbins  ;  and  that  the  public  is  highly  obliged 
to  Mr.  Selden,  for  instance,  and  to  Dr.  Lightfoot,  for  .the 
assistances  which  they  have  drawn  thence,  and  communi- 
cated, to  those  who  study  the  holy  scripture.  Those  who 
do  not  read  tbeir  works,  which  are  not  adapted  to  the  ca- 
pacity of  every  person,  will  be  greatly  obliged  to  Dr.  Wot- 
ton  for  the  introduction  which  he  has  given  them  into  that 
kind  of  learning."  In  1719  he  published  a  sermon  upon 
Mark  xiii.  32,  to  prove  the  divinity  of  the  Son  of  God  from 
his  omniscience. 

After  his  return  from  Wales  he  preached  a  sermon  in 
Welsh  before  the  British  Society  in  1722  ;  and  was,  per-, 
baps,  the  only  Englishman  who  ever  attempted  to  preach 
iii  that  language.  The  same  year,  his  account  of  the  life  and 
writings  of  Mr.  Thomas  Stanley  was  published  at  Eysenach, 
at  the  end  ofScsevola  Sammarthanus's  "Elogia  Gallorum."  . 
Iu  1723  he  printed  in  the  "13ibliotheca  Literaria"  an  account 
of  the  .'*  Caernarvon  Record,"  a  manuscript  in  the  Harletan 
library.     This  manuscript  is  an  account  of  several  ancient. 
Welsh  tenures,  and  bad  some  relation  to  the  Welsh  laws, 
which  he  was  busy  in  translating.     He  undertook  that  la- 
borious work  at  the  instance  of  Wake,  who  knew  that  the 
trouble  of  learning  a  new  and  very  difficult  language  would' 
be  no  discouragemen  t  to  Dr.  Wotton.     It  was  published  in 
J  730, ,  under  this  .  ti  tie,  "  Cysrfcithjeu  Hy  wel  Dda,  ac  erail ; 


310  W  O  T  T  O  N. 

ceu,  Leges  Wallicas  Ecclesiastic®  et  Civiles  Hoeli  Boni, 
et  aliorum  Wallise  principum,  quas  ex  variis  Codicibus 
Manuscriptis  eruit,  interpretatione  Latina,  notis  et  glossa- 
rio  illustravit  Gulielmus  Wottoous/'  in  folio.  But  this  was 
a  posthumous  work,  for  be  died  at  Busted,  in  Essex,  Feb. 
13#  1726.  He  left  a  daughter,-  who  was  the  wife  of  the 
late  Mr.  William  Clarke,  canon-residentiary  of  Chichester* 
After  his  death  came  out  his  "  Discourse  concerning  the 
Confusion  of  Languages  at  Babel,"  1730,  8vo  ;  as  did  the 
same  year  bis  "  Advice  to  a  young  Student,  with  a  method 
of  study  for  the  four  first  years."  He  was  likewise  the  au- 
thor of  five  anonymous  pamphlets  :  I.  "  A  Letter  to  Euse- 
bia,"  1707.  2.  "  The  case  of  the  present  Convocation 
considered,"  1711.  3.  "  Reflections  on  the  present  pos- 
ture of  Affairs,  1712.  4.  "  Observations  on  the  State  of 
the  Nation,"  1713.  5.  "  A  Vindication  of  the  Earl  of  Not- 
tingham," 1714. 

What  distinguished  him  from  other  men  chiefly  was  hie 
memory :  his  superiority  seems  to  have  lain  in  the  strength 
of  that  faculty  ;  for,  by  never  forgetting  any  thing,  he 
became  immensely  learned  and  knowing;  and,  what  is 
more,  his  learning  (as  one  expresses  it)  was  all  in  ready 
cash,  which  he  was  able  to  produce  at  sight.  When  he 
was  very  young  be  remembered  the  whole  of  almost  any 
discourse  he  had  heard,  and  often  surprised  a  preacher 
with  repeating  his  sermon  to  him.  This  first  recommended 
him  to  bishop  Lloyd,  to  whom  he  repeated  one  of  his  own 
sermons,  us  Dr.  Burnet  had  engaged  that  he  should.  But 
above  all,  he  had  great  humanity  and  friendliness  of  tem- 
per. His  time  and  abilities  were  at  the  service  of  any  per- 
son who  was  making  advances  in  real  learning.  The  nar- 
rowness of  a  party-spirit  never  broke  in  upon  any  of  bis 
friendships ;  he  was  as  zealous  in  recommending  Dr.  Hickes's 
great  work  as  if  it  had  been  his  own,  and  assisted  Mr. 
Spinkes  in  his  replies  to  Mr.  Collier  in  the  controversy 
about  the  necessity  of  mixing  wine  and  water  in  the  sacra- 
ment, in  1718  and  17 19^  He  was  a  great  lover  of  ety- 
mology ;  and  Mr.  Thwaites  in  his  Saxon  Grammar,  takes 
notice  of  his  skill  and  acuteness  that  way,  which  he  was 
extremely  well  qualified  for,  liy  knowing  most  of  the  Ian* 
guages  from  east  to  west.  Mr.  John  Chapman,  chaplain 
to  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  (in  "  Remarks  upon  the 
Letter  to  Dr.  Waterland  in  relation  to  the  natural  account 
of  Languages/'  pag.  8,  9.)  has  done  him  the  honour  to 


WOTTON,  3ii 

plaoe^biin  in  a  list  of  great  names  after  Boehart,  Walton,*. 
VossUis,  Scaliger,  Duret9  Heinsius,  Selden,  &c.  all  men 
of  letters  and  tracers  of  languages.  Wotton  lived  at  a  time 
when  a  man  of  learning  would  have  been  better  preferred 
than  be  was  ;  but  it  is  supposed  that  some  part  of  his  con-* 
duct,  which  was  very  exceptionable,  prevented  it. l 

WOUVERMANS  (Philip),  an  eminent  artist  of  Hol- 
land, was  born  at  Haerlem,  iu  1620,  and  was  the  son  of 
PaiH  Wouvermans,  a  tolerable  history- painter,  of  whom, 
however,  he  did  not  learn  the  principles  of  (its  art,  but  of 
John  Wyuant?,  an  excellent  painter  of  Haerlem.  It  does 
not  appear  that  he  ever  was  in  Italy,  or  ever  quitted  the 
city  of  Haerlem;  though  no  man  deserved  more  the  en- 
couragement and  protection  of  some  powerful  prince  than 
be  did.  He  is  one  instance,  among  a  thousand,  to  prove 
that  oftentimes  the  greatest  merit  remains  without  either 
recom pence  or  honour.  His  works  have  all  the  excellences 
we  can  wish ;  high  finishing,  correctness,  agreeable  com- 
position, and  a  tast£  for  colouring,  joined  with  a  force  that 
approaches  to  the  Caracci's  *.  The  pieces  he  painted  in 
his  latter  time  have  a  grey  or  blueishcast;  they  are  finished 
with  too  much  labour,  and  his  grounds  look  too  much  like 
velvet :  but  those  be  did  in  his  prime  are  free  from  these 
faults,  and  equal  in  colouring  and  correctness  to  any  thing 
Italy  can  produce.  Wouvermans  generally  enriched  his 
landscapes  with '  huntings,  halts,  encampment  of  armies, 
and  other  subjects  where  horses  naturally  enter,  which  he 
designed  better  than  any  painter  of  his  time :  there  are 
also  some  battles  and  attacks  of  villages  by  his  hand.  These 
beautiful  works,  which  gained  him  great  reputation,  did 
not  make  him  rich ;  on  the  contrary,  being  charged  with 
a  numerous  family,  and  but  indifferently  paid  for  his  work,* 
he  lived  very  meanly  ;  and,  though  be  painted  very  quick, 
a&ti  was  very  laborious,  had  much  ado  to  main  tarn  himself. 
The  misery  of  his  condition  determined  him  not  to  bring 
up  any  of  his  children  to  painting.  In  his  last  hours,  whioh 
happened  at  Haerlem  in  1688,  he  burnt  a  box  filled  with 
bis  studies  and  designs ;  saying,  I  have  been  so  ill-paid 

*  Maqy  of  the  best  works  of  Wou-  horses  is  equally  excellent,"  &c.  "Upoq 

vermans  were  in  the  gallery  of  the  the  whole,  he  is  one  of  the  few  painters 

prinee  of  Orange  at  the  Hague.   "  One  whose  excellence  in  his  way  is  such  at 

of.  the  most  remarkable  of  them  is  leaves  nothing  to  he  wished  for." 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Hay -cart ;  Sir  Joshoa  Reynolds's  Workij 

another  in  which  there  is  a  coach  and  vol.  II.  p.  343,  4tc, 

1  Gen.  Diet.— Nichols's  Bowyer.— Swift's  Works, 


S12  W  O  U  V  E  R  M  A  N  S.  . 

for  my  labours,  that  I  would  not  have  those  designs  eiH 
gage  my  son  in  so  miserable  a  profession."  Different  au- 
thors, however,  ascribe  the  burning  of  his  designs  .to  dif- 
ferent motives.  Some  say  it  proceeded  from  his  dislike  to 
his  brother  Peter,  being  unwilling  that  be  should  reap  the 
product  of  bis  labours;  others  allege  that  he  intended  to 
compel  his  son  (if  be  should  follow  the  profession)  to  seek 
out  the  knowledge  of  nature  from  his  own  industry,  and 
pot  indolently  depend  on  copying  those  designs;  and 
other  writers  assign  a  less  honourable  motive,  which  seems 
to  be  unworthy  of  the  genius  of  Wouvermans,  and  equally 
unworthy  of  being  perpetuated. 

•  Houbraken  observes,  that  the  works  of  Wouvermans  and 
Bamboccio  were  continually  placed  in  competition  by  the 
ablest  judges  of  the  art;  and  the  latter  having  painted  a 
picture  which  was  exceedingly  admired,  John  De  Witt 
prevailed  on  Wouvermans  to  paint  the  same  subject,  which 
he  executed  in  his  usual  elegant  style.  These  pictures 
being  afterwards  exhibited  together  to  the  public,  while 
both  artists  were  present,  De  Witt  said  (with  a  loud  voice),. 
«  All  our  connoisseurs  seem  to  prefer  the  works  of  those 
painters  who  have  studied  at  Ronie ;  and  observe  -only, 
how  far  the  work  of  Wouvermans,  who  never  saw  Rome, 
surpasses  the  work  of  him  who  resided  there  for  several, 
years !"  That  observation,  which  was  received  with  general 
applause,  was  thought  to  have  had  too  violent  an  effect 
on  the  spirits  of  Bamboccio ;  and  by  many  it  was  imagined 
that  it  contributed  to  his  untimely  death. ? 

WRAY  (Daniel),  a  man  of  taste  and  learning,  was  born 
Nov.  28,  1701,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Botolpb,  Aldersgate. 
His.  father,  sir  Daniel  Wray,  was  a  London  citizen,  who 
resided  in  .  Little  Britain,  made  a  considerable  fortune  in 
trade  fas  a  soap-boiler),  afnd  purchased  an  estate  in  Essex, 
near  Ingatestone,  which  his  son  possessed  after  him.  Sir 
Daniel  served  the  office  of  sheriff  for  that  county,  and  was  ' 
knighted- in  1708  on  presenting  a  loyal  address  to  queen 
Anne.  His  son  was  educated*  at  the  Charter-house,  and 
was  supposed  in  1783  to  have  bgf.n.  the  oldest  survivor  of 
any  person  educated  there.  In  1718  he  went  to  Queen's 
college,  Cambridge,  as  a  fellow  commoner.  He  took  his 
degree  of  B,  A.  in  1722,  after  which  he  made  the  tour  of 
Italy,  accompanied  by  John,  earl  of  Morton,  and  Mr.  King, 

"   }  Argenvilfc,  voli  III.—  Pilkiagtan.— -Sir  J.  Rrynold&'s  Works. 


W  R  A  Y.'  313 

the  son  of  lord  chancellor  King,  who  inherited  his  title. 
How  long  he  remained  abroad  between  1722  and  1728  is 
not  precisely  ascertained,  except  by  the  fact  that  a  cast  in 
bronze,  by  Pozzo,  was  taken  of  his  profile,  in  ,1726,  at 
Rome.  •  It  had  this  inscription  upon  the  reverse,  "Nil  ac- 
tum reputans,  si  quid  superesset  agendum,"  which  line  is 
said  to  have  been  a  portrait  of  his  character,  as  he  was  in 
all  bis  pursuits  a  man  of  uncommon  diligence  and  perse- 
verance.    After  his  return  from  his  travels,   he  became 
M.A.  in  1728,  and  was  already  so  distinguished  in  philo- 
sophical attainments,  that  be  was  chosen  a  fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society  in  March  1728-9.     He  resided  however  ge- 
nerally at  Cambridge,  though  emigrating  occasionally  to 
London,  till  1739,  or  1740,  in  which  latter  year,  January 
1740-41,  he  was  elected  F.  S.A.  and  was  more  habitually  a 
resident  in  town.     In  1*737  commenced  his  acquaintance 
and  friendship  with  the  noble  family  of  Yorke;  and  in  1745, 
Mr.  Yorke,  afterwards  earl  of  Hardwicke,  as  teller  of  the 
exchequer,  appointed  Mr.Wray  his  deputy  teller,  in  which 
office  he  continued  until  1732,  when  his  great  punctuality 
and  exactness  in  any  business  he  undertook  made  the  con- 
stant attendance  of  the  office  troublesome  to  him.     He  was 
an  excellent  critic  in  the  English  language ;  an  accom- 
plished judge  of  polite  literature,  of  virtO,  and  the  fine' 
arts ;  and  deservedly  a  member  of  most  of  our  learned  so* 
cieties ;  he  was  also  an  elected  trustee  of  the  British  Mu- 
seum.    He  was  one  of  the  writers  of  the  "Athenian  Let- 
ters" published  by  the  earl  of  Hardwicke;  and  in  the  first 
volume  of  the  Arcbseologia,  p.  128,  are  printed  "  Notes  on 
the  walls  of  antient  Rome,"  communicated  by  bim  in  1756; 
and  "Extracts  from  different  Letters  from  Rome,  giving  an 
Account  of  the  Discovery  of  a  most  beautiful  Statue  of  Ve- 
pus,  dug  up  there  176*."     He  died  Dec.  29,  1783,  in  his 
eighty-second  year,  much  regretted  by  his  surviving  friends, 
to  whose  esteem  he  was  entitled  by  the  many  worthy  and 
ingenious  qualities  which  he  possessed.    Those  of  bis  heart 
were  as  distinguished  as  those  of  his  mind ;  the  rules  of  re- 
ligion, of  virtue,  and  morality,  having  regulated  his  con- 
duct from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  days.     He  was 
married  to  a  lady  of  merit  equal  to  his  own,  the  daughter 
of  Darrel,  esq.  of  Richmond.    This  lady  died  at  Rich- 

mond, where  Mr.Wray  had  a  bouse,  in  May  1803.  Mr. 
Wray  left  his  library  at  her  disposal ;  and  she,  knowing  his 
attachment  to  the  Charter-house,  made  the  governors  an 


314  WRA  Y. 

offer  of  it,  which  was  thankfully  accepted  :  and  a  room  was 
fitted  up  for  its  reception,  and  it  is  placed  under  the  care 
of  the  master,  preacher,  head  schoolmaster,  and  a  librarian. 
The  public  at  large,  and  particularly  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Wray,  will  soon  be  gratified  by  a  memoir  of  him  written  by 
the  late  George  Hardinge,  esq.  intended  for  insertion  in 
Mr.  Nichols's  "  Illustrations  of  Literature."  This  memoir, 
of  which  fifty  copies  have  already  been  printed  for  private 
distribution,  abounds  with  interesting  anecdotes  and  traits 
of  character,  and  copious  extracts  from  Mr.  Wray's  corre- 
spondence, and  two  portraits,  besides  an  engraving  of  the 
cameo.  J 

WREN  (Matthew),  a  learned  bishop  of  Ely,  was  de- 
scended of  a.  very  ancient  family,  which  came  originally 
from  Denmark.  His  father,  Francis,  citizen  and  mercer 
of  London,  was  the  only  son  of  Cuthbert  Wren,  of  Monks- 
kirby  iit  Warwickshire,  second  son  of  William  Wren  of 
Sherburne-house  and  of  Billy-ball  in  the  bishopric  of  Dur- 
ham :  but  the  chief  seat  of  the  family  was  at  Winchester  in 
that  county.  Our  prelate  was  born  in  the  parish  of  St.  Peter- 
cheap,  London,  Dec.  2>,  1585.  Being  a  youth  of  promis- 
ing talents,  he  was  much  noticed  while  at  school  by  bishop 
Andrews,  who  being  chosen  master  of  Pembroke-hall  in 
Cambridge,  procured  his  admission  into  that  society  June 
23,  1601,  and  assisted  him  in  his  studies  afterwards,  which: 
he  pursued  with  such  success  as  to  be  chosen  Greek  scho- 
lar, and  when  he  had  taken  his  batchelor'a  degree  waselected 
fellow  of  the  college  Nov.  9,  1605.  He  commenced  M.A. 
in  1608,  and  having  studied  divinity  was  ordained  deacon 
in  Jan.  and  priest  in  Feb.  1610.  Being  elected  senior  re- 
gent master  in  Oct.  1611,  he  kept  the  philosophy  act  with 
great  applause  before  king  James  in  1614,  and  the  year  fol- 
lowing was  appointed  chaplain  to  bishop  Andrews,  and  was 
presented  the  same  year  to  the  rectory  of  Teversham  in 
Cambridgeshire.  In  1621  he  was  made  chaplain  to  prince 
(afterwards  king)  Charles,  whom  he  attended  in  that  office 
to  Spain  in  1623.  After  his  return  to  England,  he  was 
consulted  by  the  bishops  Andrews,  Neile,  and  Laud,  as  to 
what  might  be  the  prince's  sentiments  towards  the  church 
of  England,  according  to  any  observations  he  had  been  able 
to  make.     His  answer  was,  "  I  know  my  master's  learning 

1  Memoir,  as  above,  a  copy  of  which  we  have  to  acknowledge  among  the 
many  obligations  we  owe  to  Mr. Nichols's  steady  and  friendly  attention  \fi  this 
work,  and  to  its  editor. 


w  r  e  n:  in 

is  not  equal  to  his  father's,  yet  I  know  his  judgment  is  very 
right :  and  as  for  his  affections  in  the  particular  you  point 
at  (the  support  of  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  f  he  church) 
I  have  more